Where You Belong
by BlueEyedTemptress
Summary: COMPLETE! My version of season 8. Jackie has run to Fez after finding out about Hyde's marriage, but does she love him? And what will happen when Sam leaves? Will Hyde realize his mistake in time or lose Jackie forever?
1. What Happens in Vegas

Where You Belong

Summary: My version of the series finale. Jackie has run into the arms of Fez after learning of Hyde's marriage, but does she really love him? And what will happen when Sam leaves? Will Hyde realize his mistake before it's too late, or will he lose Jackie completely?

Disclaimer: If I owned That 70's Show, this is the way it would've ended.

A/N: The impending finale of That 70's Show has left me feeling slightly depressed, thanks to all signs pointing to a Jackie/Fez ending instead of a Jackie/Hyde reconciliation, and I know that many people have already written their own versions of the final episode, but I've decided to try my hand at it as well. To all those who have written an alternate ending for the show, you have all done an amazing job, and I wish the show could end the way I'm sure most of us would like. Unfortunately, the writers are mean, and so we must rely on Fanfiction to cheer ourselves up. Now, this story begins where season 8 did, with the episode "Bohemian Rhapsody," however, I have not yet seen this episode, so please forgive me if things in it don't quite match up to the episode. I read a general synopsis, but I have probably changed some things to make them go along with where I want this story to head, so just keep that in mind! Anyway, here is my little "the way it should end" version of the final episode of That 70's Show – enjoy and please review! I live and breathe for reviews!

Chapter One – What Happens in Vegas…

Hyde's head felt like it had been bashed in with a two-by-four. He tried to open his eyes, but the pain was so intense that he immediately shut them again and pressed a hand to his throbbing temple. The room was far too bright, and the sounds issuing from outside far too loud. He groaned loudly and turned onto his side, curling up into a tiny ball and squeezing his eyes shut tightly, trying to block out the tiniest hint of noise or light. When the pain refused to subside, he gingerly rolled out of bed and started stumbling towards where his door would have been had he been in his room in the Forman's basement. Unfortunately for Hyde, he wasn't in the Forman's basement, and his shin collided sharply with an ottoman. Swearing loudly, Hyde lost his balance and fell forward onto the floor, where he lay for a full minute, waiting for the room to stop spinning.

Finally, when he was able to see straight, he slowly and carefully climbed to his feet, staring confusedly around him at the unfamiliar room. The walls were painted a sickening avocado green, which was peeling and exposing an even more disgusting color, which appeared to have once been white but was now closer to yellowish gray. The bed where he had slept was lumpy, the sparse blankets tattered and torn. A dark green chair was sitting in the corner, the ottoman Hyde had tripped over sitting a few feet in front of it; both were ripped, and one arm of the chair had stuffing spilling out. The window was grimy, the curtains covering it so thin they blocked out absolutely no light. Next to the bed was a tiny table, which looked like it hadn't been dusted in years. A single lamp with a fringed shade sat on it, along with a telephone and an alarm clock that repeatedly blinked "12:00."

"Huh," Hyde muttered, scratching his head. He didn't remember the room at all, and had absolutely no idea how he had possibly gotten here. His headache was beginning to dissipate, however, and he hoped that with a clear head he would be able to remember what the hell had happened to him. Noticing a piece of paper next to the alarm clock, he hobbled over to the little table, his shin still hurting, picked it up and sat down on the bed to read the note that had been hastily scribbled there.

_Baby,_

_Sorry I had to leave before you woke up, but my shift at the club starts early today. I'll be home late again, but order some room service and we'll have some fun when I get back._

_Love you,_

_Sam_

Hyde stared at the note, reading it over and over again until recollection began to dawn on him. He remembered Sam, the hot blonde stripper he had met in Vegas after fleeing from Jackie's hotel room in Chicago. He cringed as he thought about that night, remembering all too vividly the surprised look on Jackie's face when she saw him, the words he had almost confessed to her, and the shock of seeing Kelso stroll in wearing nothing but a towel. Shaking his head vigorously to dispel the image from his mind, Hyde looked down at the note again. Although he could clearly remember Sam and could cleverly deduce what the two of them had been doing in the hotel room, though he sadly couldn't remember any of it, he couldn't figure out why she had claimed she loved him.

A panicky feeling began to constrict his chest, and Hyde tossed the note onto the bed. Glancing quickly around the room, he spotted his old duffle bag and went quickly to it, stuffing in the random articles of clothing that lay scattered around it. When his bag was packed, he headed to the door, but stopped short and turned, staring around the Spartan room. Then, striding purposefully into the dingy bathroom, he grabbed all the tiny bottles of soaps and shampoos, stuffed them into his pockets, and then hurried out.

A few hours later, sitting behind the wheel of his El Camino, Hyde was contemplating, trying to put the pieces of the puzzle together. Unfortunately, he seemed to be missing some. He couldn't for the life of him remember why he and Sam had been staying in the hotel; all he knew was that he'd had to get out of there. Her note had frightened him; it had seemed so…intimate. Like the two of them had been sharing something special and were really getting to know one another. Hell, the woman had said she _loved_ him, and Hyde couldn't even remember checking into the goddamn hotel with her! As he sped down the highway, noticing the sign that told him he had just entered Wisconsin, Hyde fervently hoped he had gotten away without having done something incredibly stupid, although the sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach told him otherwise.

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Jackie burst through the basement door of the Forman's house, face flushed and heart pounding. Her eyes lit on Kelso, who was standing near the record changer, and she stepped up to him.

"Where's Steven?" she asked through clenched teeth, her eyes boring into his.

Kelso took a step back, wary of her angry countenance. "Uh…" he looked around the room for help, but the others in the basement could only offer him blank stares. They had neither seen nor heard from Hyde in several weeks.

"Michael!" Jackie snapped, bringing his eyes back to her. "Where. Is. Steven." She pronounced the words clearly, dangerously, and Kelso's panic heightened.

"Jackie, look, I never meant for any of this to happen," he began.

Jackie screeched in frustration and launched herself at him, her tiny fists pounding his arms and chest as he backed away hastily and held up his hands in an attempt to defend himself against her attack. "You better tell me where he is, Michael!" Jackie continued to scream, each word punctuated by a fist to his body.

Kelso had backed himself into the wall and could now only stand helplessly as Jackie continued to pummel him. His steady screams of, "Ow!" and "Jackie, stop!" finally seemed to break through the stunned daze of the other two, who both quickly rose from their seats and hurried to his rescue.

Donna pried the struggling Jackie away from Kelso as Fez rushed to Kelso's side to make sure Jackie hadn't marred his beauty. Satisfied that he was okay, Fez turned to stare at Jackie, who was still squirming to be out of Donna's grasp.

"Damn, Jackie!" Kelso cried, rubbing his arm. "I'm gonna have bruises all over!"

"Serves you right after what you did!" Jackie spat back, straining against her captor.

"Jackie, enough!" Donna cried, struggling to keep a tight hold on the wriggling cheerleader. "Calm down and tell us what happened."

Twisting sharply, Jackie broke free, and Kelso gave a high-pitched shriek of fear, flattening himself against the wall. Jackie didn't dive at him, however, but simply straightened her blouse and walked calmly, albeit stiffly, to the couch where she sat down with a huff.

"Why don't you ask _him_ what happened?" she said tartly, inclining her head in Kelso's direction.

Two pairs of eyes swung to Kelso, who slowly moved off the wall and walked around the side of the couch, watching Jackie cautiously out of the corner of his eye. When he was sure she had calmed down enough and wouldn't kill him the minute he opened his mouth, Kelso turned to the other two.

"It all started when I dropped Jackie off in Chicago. We had just gotten her all settled in her hotel room, and I was getting really bored," he ignored a furious look from Jackie, "so I told her I should probably get going. But she was really lonely and begged me to stay," Jackie leapt to her feet, and Kelso yelped and backed away. "Hey! I'm just trying to tell the story here!"

"Then tell it right," Jackie spat, glaring daggers at him. She glanced at her two friends, who were both watching her closely, as if she might turn and attack them too. "For the record, I did not _beg_ him to stay," she said, and then sat back down, fixing her eyes straight ahead, seemingly determined to ignore them.

Kelso shook the hair out of his eyes, and continued in a macho voice, "Well, I knew she wanted me, so I started putting the moves on her. Next thing I know, I'm in a towel bringing ice back into the room and there's Hyde. He looked pretty pissed, and I don't blame him, considering what Jackie and I…"

"Michael!" Jackie's piercing shriek cut through the silence that had permeated the basement. She had jumped up from the couch and was about ready to march over to Kelso and rip off his most prized possessions when Fez thankfully came to his senses and instinctively flung out his arm to catch her around the waist.

Donna shot Kelso a warning look that told him if he said one more stupid thing, she wasn't going to stop Jackie next time. "I think we should hear Jackie's side of the story now."

"You mean the truth?" Jackie snapped, her eyes narrowed to angry slits as she glowered at Kelso. "Fine." She pushed roughly at Fez's arms, and he let her go, throwing Donna a bewildered look.

She shrugged, as clueless as he, and sat down tentatively next to her friend. "What happened, Jackie?" Donna asked quietly.

Jackie took a deep breath. "Michael had dropped me off and helped me get settled in the hotel room, and he was getting ready to leave when I asked if he wanted to stay for a while. I didn't know anyone in Chicago, and I was still upset about leaving Steven the way I had, and I really just needed a friend," Jackie explained, and then shot Kelso a threatening glare. "Of course, Michael took my invitation to hang out as a come-on and thought it meant I wanted to sleep with him, so he started hitting on me. I got really upset with him, told him I was going to take a shower and when I got out he'd better have ice and a different attitude, and when I got out of the shower, he was gone, so I figured he'd decided to listen to me and was out getting the ice. A few minutes later there was a knock at the door, and I thought it was Michael, but when I opened it, Steven was there. He said he wanted to talk to me, so I let him in, and then Michael came back with the ice wearing nothing but a towel. Steven got upset, accused me of cheating on him, and stormed out. And I haven't seen either one of them until now."

Donna and Fez were silent for a long time, allowing Jackie's words to absorb into their systems. They knew Jackie had gotten a job offer in Chicago, and she had been agonizing over going, warring with the opportunity of a lifetime and leaving the love of her life. Donna alone knew that Jackie had written Hyde a note, asking him to marry her, but had ultimately decided she already knew the answer, and had left, not wanting to hear the words she knew would come but would break her heart anyway. Hyde had showed Donna the note shortly after Jackie's departure, asking her advice. She had been the one to suggest he go after her and tell her how he felt if he didn't want to lose her, and she felt irrationally guilty now for the scene he had witnessed upon his arrival in Chicago.

"Um…can I ask one quick question?" Fez spoke, startling the silenced crowd. He looked at Kelso. "Why were you wearing just a towel?"

Jackie folded her arms across her chest and gave her ex-boyfriend a stern look. "That's what _I'd_ like to know."

"Jackie was in the shower!" Kelso cried, as if they should have already guessed his motives. "I thought maybe I could join her after I'd gotten the ice, but then Hyde had to go and ruin the whole thing!"

"Kelso!" Donna shouted, exasperated, while Jackie just rolled her eyes.

Kelso sighed and took a step in Jackie's direction. "Look, Jackie, I really am sorry. I honestly didn't think Hyde was gonna show up like that! Ow! Donna, what the hell!" He rubbed his arm, staring crossly at the redhead who had just punched him in the shoulder.

Jackie shook her head at him. "Michael, you just _left_. You didn't even try to explain to Steven what had happened. You could've told him the whole thing was innocent."

"Well, it wasn't really innocent. I _was_ trying to nail you – ow! Dammit, Donna, would you quit hitting me?"

"You dillhole, she means that you could've explained to Hyde what was going on instead of running away like a coward and letting him jump to conclusions that, however hard you may have tried, didn't happen," Donna said.

Kelso looked back and forth between the two angry women, mouth agape. "He was gonna kill me! If I'd stayed, it would've been like suicide!"

Jackie sighed in frustration, finally exhausted with fighting him. "Fine, Michael, but you are telling Steven exactly what happened right now so he and I can make up and I can go to bed."

The room was deathly silent again, and nervous twitches seemed to travel from one person to the next as they stood, avidly avoiding the petite brunette's gaze. Even Kelso looked slightly embarrassed as he studied a scuffmark on his Chucks.

"What now?" Jackie half-whined, half-screamed.

"Jackie," Donna began hesitatingly, "we…we don't know where Hyde is."


	2. Surprise!

A/N: Thanks to everyone who reviewed, you guys made my day! I just saw the actual series finale, and I was disappointed. I was really, really hoping Jackie and Fez would go, "You know, we're better off as friends" at the last minute, but alas! Anyway, here is chapter two, and I apologize because the Jackie/Hyde-ness hasn't happened yet, but it will eventually, so don't lose hope! Thanks again to everyone for reading, and especially to everyone who reviewed – keep 'em coming!

Chapter Two – Surprise!

The color drained from Jackie's face. "W-what do you mean you don't know where he is?"

Donna glanced at her friend nervously, unsure what to say to her. "Well, when both of you didn't come back, we figured…" she trailed off, looking to Kelso and Fez for help.

"We figured you were doing it," Fez finished bluntly.

Throwing him a threatening glare, Donna quickly amended, "I think what Fez _meant_ to say is that we thought the two of you were going to stay in Chicago and work things out. You had a lot of issues, and we didn't know if you were still going to take the job offer, or even if you guys were getting back together. We never knew he wasn't with you."

Jackie was starting to feel dizzy. She reached down blindly for the couch and dropped heavily onto it. "So, n-no one's seen him at all? No one's heard from him in weeks?" Her voice was shaky, scared. Steven had left her hotel room furious, and despite her best efforts to get him to stay, at least until he had calmed down enough to drive, he had gone anyway. Their argument had left her exhausted, and Jackie had collapsed on the hotel bed where she had cried herself to sleep. In the morning when the whole ordeal came flooding back to her, she had cried again until there were no more tears left and her body was convulsing with a severe case of the hiccups.

For two whole days she had lain in that bed, the curtains drawn tightly and the covers pulled up over her head. She was distraught over Steven leaving her just when she thought he had finally come around. He had followed her to Chicago, and she was almost positive that he had been ready to tell her he was ready to take their relationship to the next level and see his future with her. She was also furious with him for causing her to leave in the first place and then not even bothering to listen to her explanation when he jumped to conclusions after seeing her in what looked like a compromising position but was in actuality completely innocent…at least on her part. And she could not be held responsible for Michael Kelso's deranged thinking.

If only Steven had given her that tiny glimmer of hope that someday, it didn't even have to be soon, just someday he could see them still together, could see a future with her. But he hadn't even been able to say that, and Jackie had been forced to make the hardest decision of her life. She hadn't seen any other way. She had been offered the job opportunity of a lifetime, and Steven had made it clear that there was nothing holding her back. She could either wait around for him to finally be ready to make the commitment to her, and who knew how long that would take, or she could take control of her life. She had chosen to make the most of her own destiny, as difficult and painful as it was to leave him, and how dare he follow her all the way to Chicago after the way he had left things with her. How dare he say "I don't know," and then heroically come after her the way she'd always dreamed he would. How dare he stomp on her heart and then expect her to dust it off and give it back to him again.

Eventually, Jackie decided she had spent enough time crying over Steven Hyde and had forced herself out of bed and worked her special "Jackie magic," transforming herself from the pathetic, weepy wretch into her usual cheery, bubbly personality. She had marched over to the news station and practically demanded the job, and within two weeks of arduous training and solidifying her place on the news team had almost managed to convince herself that it was everything she had always wanted. Then, on the night of her very first broadcast as co-anchor, everything came crumbling down around her.

She was staring at the cameras, waiting for her cue from Roger, the weatherman, when a memory of long ago popped unbidden into her mind. She was in a newsroom again, only this time, Donna had been behind the camera, and Michael had been on the stage with her, helping her do a segment she had entitled "Slut or Not." After the taping, Steven had unexpectedly shown up to congratulate her. It wasn't until later that Donna told her he had actually come to ask her back, but when he'd seen how happy she was and she'd told him excitedly how well she would do on her own, he couldn't find the words. Though he never admitted it because it was such a Forman thing to say, Jackie knew it was actually because he didn't want to hold her back and keep her from pursuing her dreams. But as she sat there that day, Jackie realized her dreams had changed. She didn't want that life anymore if Steven wasn't there to share it with her. So, in the middle of the broadcast, as the cameras were rolling and the entire Chicago area was tuned in, as Roger gave her the cue, Jackie stood up and walked out of the station without a word.

Back at the hotel, Jackie had sat for an hour, mulling over what she had just done and what it meant. She knew she wanted Steven, she had always wanted him, but he had made it pretty clear when he left that he didn't trust her and wanted absolutely nothing to do with her anymore. But he _had_ followed her, and that had to mean something. She had to believe it meant something.

So, she had packed her bags and headed straight home, anxious and apprehensive to see Steven again. It would not be easy getting him to listen to her, but she was prepared to fight him until he was so exhausted he gave up and grudgingly let her explain. Only now he was nowhere to be found, and no one, not even his closest of friends, knew where he was.

"I'm sorry, Jackie."

Donna's voice broke through Jackie's reverie, and the smaller girl looked up at her, eyes wide with fear. "What if he's hurt? Oh, Donna, he was so angry when he left my hotel room, and I tried to stop him from driving, but he wouldn't listen and he left anyway. What if he got into a car accident and is lying unconscious in a hospital somewhere?"

Donna sat down beside her friend and placed a comforting arm around her shoulders. "I'm sure he's fine, Jackie," she soothed. "I'm sure we would've heard something if anything had happened to him."

Jackie nodded distractedly. "Yeah, you're probably right, Donna." She took a deep breath and forced herself to smile. "I'm fine. I think I'm just going to go and unpack. I dropped my stuff off at your house and came straight over here to see Ste…" the name caught in her throat, and Jackie stood up quickly and headed for the stairs.

"I'll help you," Donna said, standing as well.

"Actually, I think I'd like to be alone for a little while," Jackie replied. "I'll see you guys later."

The three friends watched her ascend the stairs with bemused and concerned expressions. Jackie was never the type to request privacy, especially when things got rough for her. In fact, when her life took a turn for the worse, she seemed to crave attention more often than normal, although they had all figured out this was only a ruse to distract them from whatever situation was currently distressing her.

"Wow, she's really upset," Donna said, voicing the other's thoughts.

"Man, if I'd known Hyde was going to leave her, I would've gone back to Chicago," Kelso said, walking to the deep freeze and pulling out a Popsicle. "Jackie could've probably used some comforting."

Fez smiled and patted his friend on the back. "Aw, that's sweet, Kelso."

Unwrapping his Popsicle, Kelso nodded. "Yeah, when Jackie gets sad or upset or lonely she gets hornier than a dog in heat."

"You pig!" Donna cried, smacking him on the back of the head and causing him to break his Popsicle in half. "You're the reason they're in this whole mess to begin with!" She shook her head as Kelso uttered an offended noise and left the basement through the side door, disgusted with him.

"Damn, Donna can be a real bitch," Kelso muttered as he tried to get his Popsicle halves to stick back together.

Fez walked around the couch and sat down next to him. "Well, it is all your fault. If you had been fully clothed when Hyde had walked in, it would've been a lot easier to explain."

Kelso scoffed. "Like you wouldn't have tried to get in the shower with Jackie when she was feeling all lonely and vulnerable."

Fez thought about that for a moment and then shrugged. "You got me there." Then, leaning closer, he said conspiratorially, "Speaking of naked Jackie, is that true what you said about her being hornier than a dog in heat?"

Giving him a lopsided grin, Kelso replied, "Trust me, Fez, I speak from years of personal experience."

"Then you should probably go," Fez said, twisting uncomfortably on the couch.

Kelso gestured to his reassembled Popsicle. "But Fez…"

"I said go!" Fez cried, waving his hand at Kelso.

With a sigh, Kelso got up and left the basement, leaving Fez alone on the couch with his "needs."

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As Jackie came up from the basement and stepped into the Forman's kitchen, she was met with a sight that simultaneously thrilled her and made her extremely uneasy all at once. Steven was sitting at the kitchen table with Kitty, a half-eaten sandwich on a plate in front of him. He looked up when he heard her enter, and she could've sworn she saw a flicker of surprise in his blue eyes before they were masked by his cultivated Zen.

Kitty, too, glanced up, smiling when she saw it was Jackie. Her smile faded as she felt the tension suddenly swell in the room, and chanced a quick look back at Steven, who was sitting in stony silence, a blank look on his face as he stared at the petite cheerleader. She cleared her throat nervously and said, "I-I'm just going to go and…look for Red." Then she quickly left the room.

Jackie took a tiny step closer. "Hey."

Hyde nodded in response.

"Um…where have you been?" Jackie asked, trying to sound casual and failing miserably.

"Vegas," he replied.

Her mouth formed an "oh," but no sound came out. She cleared her throat but suddenly found she had nothing to say. All the words she had imagined would come bubbling to the surface at the very sight of him had vanished upon actually seeing him. He didn't look happy to see her at all, and she was hesitant to make him angrier than he already was.

Hyde decided to pick up the slack. "Why aren't you in Chicago? I thought you were going to take that job offer." He was careful to keep his voice neutral, any inflection of bitterness or jealousy and he knew she'd jump all over it and pick at the holes in his defense.

Jackie nodded. "Yeah, I did, but it didn't work out." _Because I missed you, because I love you, because I realized my life meant nothing without you in it, _she wanted to say, but the words refused to come out.

"Sorry to hear that," Hyde replied, but he didn't sound sorry at all. He sounded…smug. Like he knew all along that she'd be miserable there, like at any moment he would burst out with a childish, "I told you so!" but he didn't. He just folded his arms across his chest and sat there.

Silence had never been Jackie's strong suit, and that fact was especially true now. The longer the silence dragged on, the more awkward she felt. Finally, when she could stand it no longer, she burst out, "Steven, listen, about what happened in Chicago…"

"Jackie, if you don't mind," Hyde interrupted, pushing back from the table and bringing the plate over to the sink. "I've just spent the last couple weeks getting _over_ what happened in Chicago, and I'd rather not go back and rehash it all over again."

But Jackie had already psyched herself up for her speech, and there was no stopping her. "I know, Steven, but please just hear me out. The whole thing was just a big misunderstanding. You just jumped to conclusions and didn't even bother to let me explain what was going on."

"Jumped to conclusions?" Hyde repeated, incredulous. "Jackie, Kelso was standing there in a freakin' towel! I didn't have to jump anywhere, the conclusion was right there!"

"But, Steven, _nothing_ happened!" Jackie protested. "Don't get me wrong, Michael tried, several times, but I promise we didn't do anything."

Hyde nodded, but he looked completely unconvinced. "I see. So Kelso was naked except for a towel because nothing happened."

Jackie held up a hand. "Okay, Steven, I admit that looked bad, but I can explain that, too."

"Well I can't wait to hear this," Hyde said, staring at her expectantly.

Just then, the doorbell rang, and both of them stared at the kitchen door. They heard Kitty open it and greet the person on the other side a bit awkwardly, and then heard her footsteps as she approached the kitchen. She poked her head in, a confused frown on her face. "Steven, it's for you."

Hyde brushed past Jackie and out into the living room where he stopped dead in his tracks, his eyes widening in surprise upon seeing the tall blonde standing in the doorframe. She was wearing incredibly short shorts and a tight white wife beater, two bags clutched in her hands.

"Hyde!" she cried, dropping her bags and rushing to him. Her arms were around him before he could say anything, but he clearly heard Jackie's gasp of surprise as she came out of the kitchen to witness the scene.

"Sam?" Hyde said, pulling her away and standing her at arms length. "What are you doing here?"

Sam smiled at him. "You don't remember? We got married!"


	3. Comfort

A/N: Again, my deepest gratitude to everyone reading and reviewing this story! I practically jump up and down every time I get a new review! Anyway, there's a flashback in italics, and Fez was really hard to write in this chapter, so he may be a bit OOC, and I apologize if he is. Hopefully it's not too bad, but let me know what you think! Enjoy!

Chapter Three – Comfort

Married. The word hit Hyde like a ton of bricks. He could feel his pulse begin to race and his palms begin to sweat, and suddenly, it all came crashing back to him.

* * *

_He stood at the end of the tiny room, the priest next to him in an Elvis costume. His jeans were torn, his black T-shirt dusty and sweaty from the heat. At the end of the walkway he saw her, her skimpy black miniskirt leaving almost nothing to his imagination, her eyes darkly outlined with black liner. She swayed a bit when she walked, and he couldn't tell if it was just the way she had always walked or if the alcohol in his system was making the whole room look like a Tilt-A-World. When she reached him and grasped his hands, her face swam in front of his eyes, the colors blurring into a familiar heart-shaped face with dark brown eyes and a cascade of dark curls. He smiled at her, but as she placed her hands in his, he noticed they were bigger than they should have been. He blinked and his eyes focused clearly for a second, allowing him to glimpse blonde hair and green eyes. _

_And then he remembered. Fleetingly, but distinctly, he remembered the petite brunette, tears streaming down her cheeks as she called after him, begging him to wait, to listen. And a sharp pang knifed through his heart._

"_You ready?" the blonde asked, smiling excitedly at him._

_He nodded mechanically, and followed her lead as she dropped his hands and turned back to the Elvis impersonator. He watched Elvis's mouth move, but the words were jumbled together in his head, refusing to form coherent sentences. He was amused by this, and laughed out loud twice during the course of the ceremony. Elvis ignored him, not even bothering to glance up from the podium, and Sam just giggled and smiled at him._

_Sensing she was the less inebriated of the two, Elvis turned to Sam and asked, "Do you, Samantha, take Steven J. Hyde to be your lawfully wedded husband, through sickness and in health, till death do you part?"_

_Sam nodded, said, "I do," and then gazed expectantly at him as Elvis asked him the same question._

_Imitating Sam, he slurred out the words, "I do," and then, as Elvis said, "You may kiss the bride," Sam's arms were around him, her tongue invading his mouth, and his alcohol-addled brain shut down completely._

* * *

"Well, isn't this just…well, it certainly is a surprise!" Kitty said, jolting Hyde back to reality. She stepped over to the tall blonde and held out her hand, offering her a strained, and plainly false, cheery smile. "I'm Mrs. Forman, and Steven is like a son to me." The words sounded almost threatening, as if she was warning the strange girl that she would fight tooth and nail for her little adopted son's well being.

Sam didn't notice, turning to Kitty and enveloping her in a hug. "I'm so glad to meet you! Steven told me so much about you." She pulled back and smiled at her husband over her shoulder. "Well, he told me bits and pieces anyway. We spent most of our time in the hotel room, and there wasn't a lot of talking going on, if you know what I mean." She turned back and winked at Kitty, whose eyes were wide with shock.

"Steven, could I see you for a moment in the kitchen?" she said, edging around Sam.

Hyde shrugged and followed her, sparing a quick glance at Jackie as he passed her. Her eyes were glazed over, and he noticed her hands trembling as they hung limply at her sides. She was clearly in shock, and he couldn't blame her. Seeing Sam again had been the very _last_ thing on his mind since his return to Point Place.

"Okay, mister, I want an explanation, and I want it now," Kitty said harshly as the kitchen door closed behind him.

Hyde cocked an eyebrow at her. "That wasn't explanation enough? I thought she was pretty clear."

Kitty was not amused. She pointed to the kitchen table and barked, "Sit!"

Grudgingly doing as he was told, Hyde slumped into a chair, mentally bracing himself for the confrontation he was about to face.

Taking the seat next to him, Kitty softened her voice a little and said, "Steven, what on earth happened? I thought you were with Jackie in Chicago this whole time."

Hyde's face darkened a little at the sound of her name. "Yeah, well, I wasn't."

Kitty waited as patiently as she could, about three seconds, for him to elaborate before prompting, "So what happened?"

He shrugged, Zen taking over. "Found Jackie in a bit of a compromising situation with Kelso and got the hell out of there. Drove around for a while and finally ended up in Vegas. Got piss drunk and, apparently, got married."

"_Apparently_?" Kitty questioned. "You mean you don't remember marrying…"

"Sam," Hyde supplied and shrugged again. "And yeah, vaguely."

Motherly instincts taking over, Kitty scooted closer to him and pulled him to her, hugging him tightly. "Oh, Steven!" He squirmed against her until she finally obliged and let go, but she gripped his hand tightly. "What are you going to do?"

He stared at her blankly. "About what?"

"About your wife!" Kitty cried.

Hyde glanced over at the kitchen door and then back at Kitty.

"Oh, Red is going to throw a fit," she grumbled as she watched him go back into the living room.

"Come on, Sam, I'll show you where you can put your stuff," Hyde said, picking up one of his wife's bags and leading her down to the basement. Jackie had thankfully left, so he didn't have to face her just yet, though he knew her departure had only postponed the inevitable confrontation they were sure to have later.

Fez looked up at Hyde as he appeared on the steps, and immediately he rushed to him, embracing his curly-headed friend tightly. "Oh, Hyde! We thought you would never come home!" he cried, and tears began welling up in his eyes.

Hyde, immobilized by the foreigner's deathlike grip, could only grumble incoherently and wait to be freed. To his great relief, Sam descended the stairs just as the need for oxygen was becoming an issue, and Fez instantly let him go and proceeded to ogle the leggy blonde.

"You have brought Fez a woman!" Fez shouted, eyes wide as saucers as he drank in Sam's appearance from head to toe.

Chuckling, Hyde clapped his friend on the back, shaking the foreigner out of his daze. "Sorry, little buddy, she's not for you. She's my wife."

Fez's head snapped in Hyde's direction. "Your what?"

"Long story," Hyde mumbled. "I'll tell you all about it later." He jerked his head at Sam, indicating her to follow him, and headed for his room.

"But what about Jackie?" Fez called after him, and Hyde froze.

"Jackie and I are over," he stated coldly, and then ushered Sam into his room, closing the door firmly behind them.

Fez gaped after them, completely taken by surprise. Hyde _married_? He was barely capable of telling Jackie he loved her, let alone marry her. Hell, that was why she had left in the first place. He couldn't even tell her he could see a future with her, and now, after two weeks away, he came back with some strange, hot blonde _wife_?

"Poor Jackie," Fez muttered, and realization suddenly dawned on him. Jackie probably didn't know yet. He had to tell her before she saw the two of them together. Quickly, he left the basement and headed for his and Jackie's apartment.

* * *

_Ai, I'm too late, _he thought as his eyes immediately found Jackie's small frame curled up on the couch, her body wracked with sobs. She didn't hear him as he softly shut the door behind him, nor did she look up when he sat down next to her and tentatively placed a hand on her back.

"My poor little flower," Fez cooed.

"He's married!" Jackie's muffled voice lamented, her face squashed in the couch cushions.

Fez rubbed her back soothingly. "Jackie, Hyde is stupid. He doesn't know what he gave up by letting you go."

Jackie sat up. "She's hot." The words sounded defeated, as if in that instant, Jackie realized she'd been beaten and had decided to give up. Her eyes were focused on the floor, the tears still streaking down her cheeks.

"Yes, she is," Fez sighed, remembering the long, tanned legs of the blonde. At Jackie's indignant huff, he leaned forward and cupped her face in his hands, his thumbs gently wiping away her tears. "But she is nothing compared to you."

Her eyes flew to his face, searching it frantically for the truth behind his words. Seeing that he was sincere, she leaned closer, pressing her lips timidly to his, her eyes sliding closed.

Fez, startled by the contact, pulled away quickly. "Jackie, I'm not sure we should be doing this."

Jackie's eyes filled with tears again and she nodded, turning away from him.

"You are upset about Hyde's wife," Fez explained, already beginning to regret his decision.

Tensing, Jackie said quietly but firmly, "Please don't call her that."

Fez placed a hand on her shoulder and, gaining courage when she didn't pull away, said gently, "I don't want you to do something you'll regret later."

Jackie turned to face him, her eyes watery and red from crying. "You don't want me?" she asked in a tiny voice, as if she were afraid of the answer.

"Of course I want you," Fez replied without hesitation. "I always have. But, Jackie, right now…"

"Right now, all I want is to feel comforted," Jackie interjected. She edged closer to him so her knees were touching his. "Fez, I need you."

This time, Fez didn't protest as her lips brushed against his. He knew it was a mistake and that in the morning Jackie would probably hate him for it, but he was powerless against her. She had said she needed him, and the words had turned his resolve to mush. He had imagined this moment for so long, ever since he had met her. He had felt for her when Kelso had cheated on her, and now, he felt for her in the wake of Hyde's betrayal, and he simply couldn't bring himself to turn her away when she was so desperately in need of someone.

As she deepened the kiss, he briefly thought of protesting, of pushing her back and talking some sense into her. Those thoughts were quickly dashed from his head as her hands began working the buttons on his shirt. His mind could no longer focus on anything but her.

He pulled away for an instant, and her eyes grew fearful, afraid he would leave her. But instead, he held out a hand to her and drew her to her feet. His eyes locked onto hers as he asked, "Are you sure?"

Jackie nodded twice, barely comprehending anything that was happening. She was acting on impulse alone, desperate to feel needed, to feel loved. She knew Fez could give that to her, if only for a little while. A tiny voice inside her was crying out that this was wrong, that she was taking advantage of Fez and the fact that he had always had a crush on her, but she squashed the voice quickly as he led her into his room.

Afterward, when she was fast asleep, Fez lay in his bed, staring at the ceiling, Jackie's back pressed against his side. He felt guilty for somewhat taking advantage of her in her depression, yet at the same time he felt a small sense of hope. He had wanted Jackie for so long, but she had always chosen others over him. First Kelso, then Hyde. But now, they had both betrayed her, both been unable to give her the one thing she craved, and though she hadn't exactly come _looking_ for him, _she_ had been the one to lean in and kiss _him_. Perhaps that meant the whole thing hadn't only been about comfort. After all, they had become so close over the years, especially since they had moved into the apartment together. He couldn't help but hope that maybe this was a sign that things were changing between them, that maybe they were growing closer, becoming more than just good friends. Maybe he could be the person to give her what she had been searching for all along.

And even though a part of him knew that Jackie was vulnerable and on the rebound, at that moment, Fez didn't care. He had dreamed about her, about this moment, for so long that nothing could destroy it. But, he also knew that as much as he wanted her, he had to respect her wishes. If this night had meant nothing more than comfort, he would bite his tongue and they would go back to being friends.

Fez glanced at the sleeping brunette and wondered what would happen when she awoke.


	4. Aftermath

A/N: All right, so writing two stories concurrently is difficult. Kudos to those who can keep up with so many at the same time, I will never figure out how you do it! But don't worry; the next chapter of "Countdown" will be up very soon. A big thank you to all those who reviewed this story and kept me motivated to continue it! Hope you continue to enjoy!

Chapter Four – Aftermath

Jackie's eyelids fluttered open just as dawn was beginning to creep into the room. She rolled over on her back and stretched, causing the body lying next to her to stir and sit up. Suddenly conscious of the fact that she was completely naked, Jackie pulled the covers up to her chin and offered him a tiny smile.

"Morning, Fez."

_Well, she's not screaming or throwing things or threatening me with sharp objects, so she must not be that mad_, Fez thought and smiled at her in return. True, she didn't look entirely comfortable, but as long as his private parts weren't in jeopardy, Fez considered the situation to be going quite smoothly.

Jackie shifted uncomfortably under his stare. "Um, I should probably take a shower." When he didn't move, she prompted, "So, could you leave and give me some privacy?"

Fez blushed ever so slightly and muttered an apology as he stood, turning his head away from her. At Jackie's gasp, however, he immediately spun back. "What is it?"

Covering her face with the covers, Jackie screeched, "You're naked!" It was an odd thing to be embarrassed about, considering what they had spent the night doing, but somehow it had surprised her nonetheless. Apparently, Donna had been right when she'd said thinking and knowing were two very different things. She had assumed, and rightly so, that due to her state of undress and the sleeping Fez she had woken up next to, she had spent the night with him, but having it confirmed by a _naked_ Fez was another matter altogether.

Fez immediately grabbed his underwear from the floor and hurriedly pulled them on. As Jackie cautiously peeked out from behind the covers, he backed up slowly, holding his hands up in supplication. "Yes, you go and take your shower and I'll, uh…be out here…not naked…"

When the door shut behind him, Jackie brought the covers away from her face and slowly rolled out of bed. She padded across the floor to the bathroom and turned on the shower, waiting patiently as it warmed up and then ducking her head under the steaming spray. She knew Fez would be waiting for her when she got out, knew also that they would have to talk about what had happened, but she honestly didn't know what to say to him. And so she stayed in the shower until the warm water turned cold and she began to shiver. Then, with her fluffy pink robe wrapped tightly around her, she stepped out of the bathroom.

"Hey," she said, sitting down on the bed next to Fez.

* * *

Hyde awoke to the smell of bacon and stretched languidly. Mrs. Forman always outdid herself on Saturday mornings, and his stomach growled just thinking about the piles of eggs, pancakes, and waffles that were waiting for him upstairs. He was startled when a blonde head looked up at him, eyes bleary with sleep, but then he remembered his "wedding night" and nodded a good morning to his wife.

"What smells so good?" Sam asked, scooting closer to him.

Hyde slid away from her, grabbing his boxers and pulling them on before he got off the cot. "Breakfast. Mrs. Forman's a great cook."

Sam watched him dress and then glanced at the clock next to the cot. "I wish I had time to eat, but I've got to get out there and look for a job." She rolled out of bed and bent to pull on her clothes. "Are there any strip clubs around here?"

He shrugged. "One or two."

Straightening, Sam crossed his tiny room and reached up to plant a kiss on his lips. "I'll see you tonight."

Hyde nodded and followed her out of his room, not surprised to see Kelso sitting on the couch wrapped in a blanket, the television tuned in to Saturday morning cartoons. He glanced over his shoulder as he heard Hyde, andhe did a double-takeas he saw the tall blonde exit the basement. Leaping over the couch, he stared agape at his friend.

"Who was the fox?"

Giving him a pointed look, Hyde replied, "My wife."

They started up the stairs as Kelso shouted, "Oh, burn! You wouldn't even _talk_ about marriage with Jackie and now all of a sudden you've got a hot blonde wife!"

Hyde ignored him and sat down at the kitchen table as Mrs. Forman handed him a steaming plate of scrambled eggs and bacon. She sat down beside him; head cocked to one side, and asked, "So, Steven, how did you meet Sam anyway?"

"Uh…well, at a strip club, actually," he said hesitantly, and stared determinedly at his plate.

Kitty gasped and Kelso's eyes almost bugged out of his head. "She's a stripper? Oh, man, she's got to be a tiger in the sack!" He yelped as Hyde frogged him on the arm.

"Oh, Steven, a stripper?" Kitty said, disappointment evident in her voice. She sighed. "Well, I guess what happens in Vegas doesn't always stay in Vegas."

Donna entered the kitchen then, and Hyde was thankful for the few seconds of reprieve from Mrs. Forman's displeasure as she got up from the table and bustled about getting a plate of waffles ready for the new arrival. But, of course, Kelso couldn't keep his big mouth shut.

"Hyde married a stripper!"

Donna's mouth dropped open as she stared in disbelief at Hyde. "You did _what_?"

In response, Hyde reached over and jabbed Kelso in the arm for the second time that morning, and Kelso, finally getting the message, quickly scooted back out of Hyde's reach.

"You married a stripper?" Donna repeated, her voice a high-pitched squeak. "Does Jackie know?"

And Kelso, who just couldn't help himself, cried, "No. It's the best burn ever!" This time, he received a punch from Donna, and with a huff, he got up from the table and stalked out holding his bruised arm, the blanket still wrapped around him.

Donna leaned towards Hyde as Kitty placed her plate in front of her. "Did you tell Jackie?"

He shrugged. "She was here when Sam showed up."

Sighing heavily, Donna sat back and shook her head at him. "So what are you going to do?" At his blank expression, she exclaimed, "Well you can't stay married to her!"

He cocked an eyebrow at her.

Donna's eyes widened. "You've got to be kidding me. Hyde," she paused, noticing that Mrs. Forman was still in the kitchen, and lowered her voice as she continued, "you were going to propose to her."

Hyde smirked. "Well, I still got married."

Rolling her eyes, Donna pushed away the plate of waffles. "Hyde, I know what you saw when you walked into her hotel room, but do you honestly think she slept with Kelso?"

Sighing, he ran a hand through his hair. "Doesn't matter what I think now."

"Yes, it does! Hyde, you can still fix this," Donna implored.

"Donna, I know you want to help because Jackie's your friend, but do me a favor and just…don't, okay? What's done is done."

Donna's eyes hardened as she stared at him. "You can be such an ass sometimes." With that, she stomped out of the kitchen.

Kitty, who had been pretending not to listen, turned to look at her surrogate son. "She might be right, you know," she said before she too left the kitchen.

Hyde groaned and stared at his plate of food, suddenly not hungry anymore.

* * *

Jackie and Fez had been sitting on his bed for what felt like an eternity, neither one of them really knowing how to breach the subject of what had happened last night. Occasionally, they would glance at each other out of the corners of their eyes, quickly looking away when their eyes met.

Finally, taking a deep breath, Fez said, "So…"

Jackie nodded, pulling imaginary lint from her robe. "Yeah." She stared up at the ceiling, chewing pensively on her bottom lip as Fez looked straight ahead and twiddled his thumbs.

A full minute went by like that until Jackie became fed up with the awkward silence. "Oh, this is stupid!" she cried, turning to face him. "Look, Fez, about what happened last night…"

"I know, Jackie, you don't have to say anything," Fez interrupted, holding a hand up to silence her. "You were just upset about Hyde getting married," he ignored her slight wince and continued without pause, "and it was just a one-time thing."

She nodded slowly and tucked a stray strand of hair behind her ear. "Right, yeah."

Fez took a deep breath and looked away from her, smiling sadly. He had already made up his mind that he would do what she wanted, no matter what, but he hadn't realized just how much he'd been hoping their night had been about more to her than just forgetting about Hyde.

"I think I'm going to go over to Donna's," Jackie said at length. She headed for the door, but stopped just short of leaving and looked back at him. "Fez, are you going to be okay?"

Forcing a laugh, Fez nodded and waved a hand dismissively at her. "Of course I am, Jackie. I mean, we did do it."

She made a face at him, but giggled despite his smarmy comment; glad to see him returning to his typical disturbed self. Then she had to laugh at herself for being glad that Fez was still as sex-crazed as ever, but she left his room feeling a little better.

* * *

"Took you long enough," Donna laughed as she opened her front door and saw Jackie standing there. "I figured you would've been pounding on my door the minute you found out about…"

"Donna, if you say his name or the word 'wife,' especially in the same sentence, I'll kill you," Jackie snapped, barging past her friend and into the Pinciotti's house.

Shaking her head, but smiling in amusement, Donna followed the smaller girl into the living room and sat down beside her on the couch. "Well, you'll be happy to know that I called Hyde an ass today," she said proudly.

Jackie nodded. "Good, because he is." She paused and a frown creased her forehead as she asked, "Wait, when did you find out?"

"This morning," Donna replied, pulling her legs up into a more comfortable position. "I went over for Mrs. Forman's famous Saturday breakfast and Kelso blurted it out."

"Michael knows too!" Jackie screeched, her face flushing with anger.

Donna nodded. "And that's not even the worst part. You know Hyde was in Vegas right? Well guess where they met?" She waited until Jackie shrugged and then exclaimed loudly, "At a strip club! Yeah, she's a stripper!"

Jackie's face was beat red, her frustration bubbling to the surface as she nearly screamed, "He married a stripper? He wouldn't even let me _look_ at wedding magazines with you, and he marries a freakin' _stripper_?"

"Men are pigs," Donna mumbled, crossing her arms over her chest and shaking her head, thinking of her failed wedding and her stupid Africa-loving ex-boyfriend.

"They so are, every single one of them," Jackie agreed, slouching down onto the couch and also crossing her arms.

Donna snorted. "At least yours didn't run away to Africa."

"Oh yeah?" Jackie retorted, glaring at the taller girl, "Well at least yours didn't marry a stripper!"

Sitting up straighter, Donna stared down the tiny cheerleader. "Eric broke up with me in a letter!"

Jackie also sat up, her gaze unwavering as she met Donna's. "Steven married a stripper!"

Donna blinked, and her scowl was replaced by a frown as she said, "Wait, you already said that."

Still fuming, Jackie barked, "Yeah, well it bears repeating!"

Suddenly, Donna burst out laughing, realizing the idiocy of their argument. "Jackie, this is ridiculous. Why are we fighting about whose boyfriend is the dumbest?"

"Because I like winning!" Jackie protested.

Donna just shook her head, and then a thought occurred to her. "So why weren't you over here the second you found out about Hyde's stripper wife?"

Jackie gave a nervous chuckle. "So about that Eric. Man, is he a dillhole or what?"

"Jackie." Donna's voice held a note of warning, and Jackie knew she had to confess.

"All right!" she cried, holding her hands up to calm down her friend. Then she took a deep breath and said, "Donna, something happened last night…"


	5. Confessions

A/N: Sorry for the slow update, graduation was a lot more hectic than I expected, but I am now officially out of high school, so yay! Anyway, I wanted to say thanks again to all the people reviewing this story - you guys are what keep me writing! Also, I'm a bit nervous about this chapter because I'm not sure the whole argument makes sense, so please be gentle with the reviews!

Chapter Five – Confessions

"…I sort of slept with Fez."

Donna blinked, her brain unwilling to comprehend what Jackie had just confessed. "You did what?" she asked dumbly.

"I sort of…. slept with Fez," Jackie repeated, casting her eyes downward.

"Sort of? How do you 'sort of' sleep with someone?" Donna's voice was gaining volume with each word as she slowly began to understand the weight of her friend's admission.

Jackie chanced a quick look up at her and saw Donna's face was tense, her lips pressed together in a thin line as she waited expectantly for a response. Jackie opened her mouth and stuttered, "I…well, Donna just…I can explain."

Donna arched a brow at her. "Well I should hope so! Jackie, we're talking about Fez here, remember? The foreigner, the pervert, the guy who sat in my closet on many an occasion and stole your underwear whenever he could get his hands on it?"

"I know, Donna, just let me explain," Jackie replied, holding her hands up to calm down her friend.

"I mean it's _Fez_!" Donna shouted, making a disgusted face.

"Donna! For God's sake, let me explain before you start ranting!" Jackie snapped.

Donna shut her mouth and sank back onto the couch, but she gave Jackie a disapproving look that told her just because she was listening did not mean she had accepted the situation.

Jackie took a deep breath. "Donna, when I found out about…" She floundered for the word, fearing just the sound of her name would make the whole thing irreversible.

"Sam, Hyde's wife," Donna supplied quickly, deliberately ignoring her friend's discomfort.

Jackie threw her a death glare, but continued calmly, "I was really upset and confused. I thought maybe if I came home I'd be able to explain things to Steven and everything would be okay between us. I didn't think for a second that during my two-week stay in Chicago he would've been in Las Vegas, getting drunk and marrying some stripper whore." She paused and her voice trembled slightly with unshed tears. "It just hurt so much that he could give her the one thing he'd never been able to give me, and in the span of only two weeks of knowing her. I just felt so alone, and when Fez showed up at the apartment to comfort me, I just clung to him. I needed someone, and Fez understood that; we both know it meant nothing more than that."

There was silence for a while as Donna allowed Jackie's words to sink in. She knew of course when she'd first found out about Sam that Jackie would be devastated. The poor girl was so in love with Hyde, and at times, Donna felt sorry for her because deep down she wasn't sure Hyde could ever be the man Jackie really needed because he couldn't say the words she longed to hear. But Donna also knew that Hyde did care for Jackie, much more than he let on to others. And even though he couldn't speak the words, he showed Jackie he cared through his actions, which Donna believed spoke more than words ever could.

She heaved a sigh. "Jackie, I understand how hurt you must have been, and if it were me and Eric, he probably wouldn't be alive right now." She smirked as she caught the faintest trace of a smile twitch the corners of Jackie's lips upward. "However," she continued, becoming serious again, "sleeping with Fez was definitely _not_ the way to deal with all of this. This situation was between you and Hyde."

Jackie nodded slowly. "I know, and if I could take it all back and do it over again, I would."

"So how did Fez take it?" Donna asked.

Shrugging, Jackie gave her friend a small smile. "He got a pretty sweet deal, Donna. Sleeping with me with no strings attached? Most men would kill for that opportunity."

Donna grinned. "You do come with a lot of baggage."

Jackie playfully slapped her on the arm. "Hey, I'm high maintenance in a good way, remember?"

Shaking her head, Donna just laughed. At length, she said, "You are going to talk to Hyde about this, aren't you?"

With a nervous chuckle, Jackie replied, "I don't think it's really something he needs to know about…" but the look on Donna's face told her otherwise, and she sighed heavily.

"Look, Jackie, if you want Hyde in your life at all, you have to talk to him," Donna explained.

Rolling her eyes, Jackie pouted, "I know; I just hate it when you're right."

* * *

An hour later, Jackie found herself sitting alone in the Forman's basement, waiting for Hyde to get off work. She had played a zillion different scenarios over and over in her head as she sat there, _I Dream of Jeannie _flickering across the TV, but none of them turned out well. She didn't even know what to say to him when he arrived; they had so many issues to work out – Chicago, Sam, Fez – but just the thought of breaching any one of those topics made her stomach queasy. She had so much she wanted to say to him, but finding the right words was proving more difficult than she had anticipated. Just as she was about to lose her nerve and leave, he walked through the door, and she immediately froze.

Hyde's eyes widened in surprise beneath his shades at the sight of her there. He hadn't expected her to show up unannounced, and definitely not alone. He had anticipated a big show in front of Donna at least, knowing Jackie's love for dramatic scenes, but seeing her now, completely alone and vulnerable, he suddenly felt even more apprehensive.

"Hey," he said, as casually as he could.

She nodded, and he saw her anxiety morph into the practiced Zen he had taught her so long ago. "Hey."

He moved past her and eased down in his usual chair, eyeing her carefully as he did so. "What are you doing here?"

"I wanted to talk to you," she replied firmly, setting her resolve as she came around the side of the couch and sat back down, turning her body to face him. _It's now or never, _she thought. "I think we have a lot to talk about, don't you?"

He shrugged. "I guess." If she wanted to play Zen, he was definitely game; he had taught her everything she knew after all.

Jackie took a deep breath. The battle had begun. "I never got the chance to explain to you what happened in Chicago, so I'd like to start there." She paused, expecting him to object, but he simply stared at her, waiting for her to continue, so she did. "I know you probably won't believe me, which by the way is completely infuriating, but nothing happened. I wanted Michael to stay with me for a while because I was upset about the way I'd left you, and all I wanted was some company from a friend. Unfortunately, Michael being Michael started hitting on me, and when I sent him for ice and went to take a shower, he saw it as the perfect opportunity to join me, hence why he was in a towel when you arrived. But you being you jumped to conclusions, didn't bother to let me explain anything, and ran off without another word.

"After that, I was so mad at you for not trusting me that I decided staying in Chicago was the best option. I already had a job there and you had made it pretty clear there was nothing in Point Place for me anymore. I only made it two weeks before I was miserable and realized that my life was empty without you in it. I decided to come back home and try to make you understand what had happened so we could be together, but then your stripper wife showed up and that plan got blown to hell. I had been willing to forgive you for not trusting me because I know the people you've had in your life have never been there for you. Your parents abandoned you and that can make anyone afraid to trust other people, but Steven, I never did anything to intentionally hurt you; I loved you, and I never gave you a reason not to trust me.

"Hearing that you had gotten married was like Chicago all over again, except this time it was impossibly worse because you had given someone you'd known barely two weeks the one thing you'd never been able to give me in two years. I was so hurt and so angry, I couldn't even look at you. I went back to my apartment, and when Fez came home…" she hesitated.

All the pent-up anger had gone into her speech, all the hurt she'd felt towards him was wrapped up in her words, but now she was suddenly afraid of hurting _him_. She should be thrilled for the chance to wound him, to injure him even the slightest bit. He had devastated her, after all, crushed every single one of her hopes and dreams. But instead she was terrified. She didn't want to see the way he would look at her, his eyes hardening with hatred and disgust. She wanted to clear the air between them, wipe the slate clean so they could start over, not force him to hate her. As raw as the wounds still were and as angry as she felt she might always be with him, she still did not hate him. She couldn't. What was worse, she was afraid she still loved him. He still meant so much to her, and she knew that deep down, a part of him still cared about her too. Confessing to him might mean that part of him would get lost forever, might mean she would lose _him_ forever.

"Jackie?" Hyde stared at her, a concerned frown furrowing his brow.

She blinked, snapping out of her daze, and looked up at him. Yes, telling him could risk losing him, but there was still that small possibility that he would forgive her. Sure, he would be angry with her, irate probably, but if he still cared about her he would forgive her. They had both made mistakes, both had a lot to answer for, but if they could get past it all, maybe there was still hope.

"Steven, I slept with Fez," Jackie blurted before she lost her nerve.

Hyde's jaw clenched tightly, and he struggled to remain Zen as the words echoed inside his head. His chest felt tight, his heart beating frantically against the cavity walls, each breath burning his lungs. His insides had tied themselves into knots during the course of her speech and were now being forcibly ripped apart. He stood up, his fingernails biting into the palms of his hands as he fisted them tightly at his sides.

"Get out."

Jackie's mouth dropped open. "Steven…"

He held up a shaking hand. "Jackie, I seriously think you should go."

Temper flaring, Jackie stood up and crossed her arms over her chest, her eyes narrowing as she glared at Hyde. "I am not going anywhere, Steven. You are not the victim here! You married another girl!"_ So much for forgiveness and starting over_, she thought bitterly.

"So you got back at me by sleeping with my friend? That's real mature, Jackie," Hyde snarled, all traces of Zen gone.

"I didn't do it to get back at you, you scruffy loser!" Jackie shouted. "But speaking of revenge, isn't that why you married your whore, Steven?" she spat acidly, her brown eyes ablaze with fury.

He shook his head warningly. "Leave her out of this, Jackie."

Deliberately trying to provoke him, Jackie said, her voice dripping with sarcasm, "It must have been a beautiful wedding. I can just picture Sam walking down the aisle in a tube top and a miniskirt. How classy."

"You know, Jackie, this whole thing was your fault," Hyde retorted, his blue eyes icy. "You gave me an ultimatum, and then you didn't even wait around to hear my answer! So if you're going to blame anybody, blame yourself."

"Oh, that's right, Steven, I forgot I forced you to get drunk and marry a stripper!" Jackie screamed.

Hyde snorted. "You really don't care about anyone but yourself, do you?"

Jackie's lip curved up in a sneer. "I cared about you, and look where that got me."

"Well, hey, now all you have to do is sleep with Eric and you can tell everyone you've nailed every guy in our group! That'll really boost your popularity!" he exclaimed with fake enthusiasm.

"Not that I need it anyway, Steven, but if I wanted to do that, I wouldn't have dated you in the first place!" Jackie spat.

"Well, I told you from the beginning that we had nothing in common. You were just a fun fling, so I wouldn't exactly call that 'dating.'"

His words struck a nerve; she had always felt a nagging suspicion that he had never really cared about her at all. Her lower lip began to tremble as she said quietly, "A fling doesn't last for two years, Steven."

He smirked, knowing full well he'd hit his target. "Whatever."

"Okay, Steven, if I was just a fling, then why do you care if I slept with Fez?" Jackie snapped.

Hyde thought for a second. "You're right, Jackie. I don't care. I never did care."

An angry tear slid down her cheek. "You don't mean that, Steven."

"Actually, Jackie, I do."

She shook her head, but the tears had broken free and were now spilling down over her flushed face.

Hyde cringed inwardly. Seeing Jackie cry had always been his weakness, and for a split second he had the urge to pull her into his arms and apologize. Then he remembered why she'd come to speak to him, and he set his jaw instead.

"Steven Hyde, when you married another girl, I thought you could never hurt me worse," Jackie said, her voice trembling, "but somehow you've managed to top yourself. Congratulations." With that, she stormed out of the basement.


	6. And Then There Were Four

A/N: Okay, please, please don't hate me for this chapter! I know you all hate Sam, and trust me, I do too, but I need her for just this one chapter and then I promise she'll be gone! As a compromise, I swear Randy will not exist in this story at all, so please don't hate me too much! Have faith because I am a die-hard Jackie/Hyde shipper, and I would never let anything come between them for too long. Oh, also, I know absolutely nothing about news stations, so everything I say about co-anchors and reporters is me totally flying by the seat of my pants, so if you know anything about them and I've made any glaring errors, you can kindly point them out, but don't flame me for it, please! That said, I'd like to extend my warmest gratitude to everyone who has been reading this, and especially to everyone reviewing. I hope you'll all continue to review even if you hate this chapter!

Chapter Six – And Then There Were Four

The tears were streaming down Jackie's face as she shoved random articles of clothing into her suitcases. She had stopped trying to wipe them away, and wasn't even bothering to control the loud sobs that wrenched out of her body. Fez thankfully wasn't in the apartment when she'd returned after her confrontation with Steven, so there was no need for her to put up a brave front. Her world was once again crumbling around her, and she was eternally grateful that no one was there to witness the sad spectacle; she simply didn't have the strength to put on a show and pretend that she was above everything.

As she finished packing and the tears finally began to subside, Jackie pulled her notebook out from her dresser drawer and sat down on her bed. It was a terribly impersonal way to leave, she knew, but she couldn't risk saying goodbye to everyone in person, fearing she would run into _him_, or worse yet, him _and_ his skank of a wife. She ripped out three pieces of paper, took out her pen, and began to write the hardest letters of her life. When she was done, she folded up the letters, placed them in three separate envelopes, sealed them, and printed three names neatly on their respective envelopes. Then, with a heavy sigh, she grabbed her luggage and the letters, and headed to the bus station.

* * *

Hyde was slumped down on the couch, his head in his hands, when Sam returned to the basement early the next morning. Her shift at the club had gone later than she'd expected, but she'd made some really good tips, and she wanted to take Hyde out to celebrate in order to make it up to him. She had expected to find him asleep in his room, not wide-awake and clearly upset on the couch.

Cautiously, she stepped up to him. "Steven?"

Hyde slowly removed his hands and angled his head up at her. His eyes were bloodshot from lack of sleep and sunk into his hollow, unshaven face.

"What happened? You look awful," Sam remarked as she sat down next to him.

He shrugged but didn't respond, the argument he'd had with Jackie still fresh in his mind. He hadn't been able to stop thinking about it, the insults he'd flung at her, the dejected way she'd left, it all just kept replaying inside his mind like a song on repeat.

"Well, I had a fantastic night!" Sam exclaimed, smiling brightly at him. "I made over three hundred dollars in tips!"

Hyde sighed and closed his eyes, leaning his head on the back of the couch. "That's great, Sam."

Sam scooted closer to him and placed both hands on his knee. "Let's go out, Steven. To celebrate!"

Hyde's eyebrows knit together in a frown. "Sam, I'm exhausted. I really don't feel like going out. Besides it's like," he opened an eye and brought his watch an inch from his face, "five o'clock in the morning."

Her smile faltered slightly, but was back in place as an idea popped into her head. Her hand slid up his thigh and she said, her voice lowered suggestively, "Well, we could just stay in and celebrate."

Normally, Hyde would have leapt at the suggestion, but there was a headache beginning to form behind his eyes, and he still couldn't get the image of Jackie's tear-stained face out of his head. He sighed again, removed Sam's hand from his thigh, and looked her fully in the eye as he said, "No, Sam, I'm tired."

Sam stood up, glaring down angrily at him. "Fine! Enjoy your sleep on the couch, Hyde."

He stared up at her incredulously. "You're kicking me out of my own room?"

"That's right," she snapped and stalked off to the back of the basement. She turned around at his door and glowered at him. "And don't even think about make-up sex because I have another shift at the club tonight!" With that, she slammed the door.

Hyde's head fell back heavily against the back of the couch. His headache was now full-blown. "Great," he muttered, closing his eyes and rubbing his temples. "Just great."

* * *

Jackie stood outside the door of the same motel, the same room, and swallowed the lump in her throat. She had tried getting a room at every motel within a five-mile radius, and none of them had vacancies. Grudgingly, she had made her way back to the infamous place where her life as she had known it had come to a screeching halt. Just her luck that the only room left at the motel had been the very same one she had stayed in that night.

Heaving a sigh, Jackie turned the key in the lock and opened the door to the familiar room. She flicked on the light, dropped her bag by the bed, and sat down heavily, staring around as the memory of that night came flooding back. She slid back onto the bed and curled herself into a tight little ball, closing her eyes as the tears slipped unnoticed down her cheeks. In a few minutes, she had drifted off into an exhausted sleep.

In the morning when she awoke, Jackie felt anything but rested. Her body ached, half from fatigue and half from the lumpy, uncomfortable mattress she'd slept on. Her face was pale and tear-stained, her hair tangled and dirty. Even a hot shower didn't make her feel better, though she was certainly glad to wash away the grime. She dressed in a professional-looking business suit and pulled her hair up into a simple ponytail. After applying her make-up, she looked at herself critically in the mirror and frowned. To the untrained eye, Jackie Burkhart looked flawless, but Jackie herself could see the slight sagging under her almost unnoticeably puffy eyes, and the slightly sallow tint of her normally glowing skin. She sighed and gave her lips one last coat of lipstick before turning away from her reflection and grabbing her purse, her keys, and the letters she had written the night before to her three remaining friends in Point Place.

On her way to the news station, where she prayed they would still offer her a job, even if it was something as stupid as getting coffee and donuts for everyone, she stopped at the post office and mailed the letters. She figured it was easier to send them once she had arrived back in Chicago; that way, nobody would be able to stop her from leaving. She almost didn't send them, realizing how upset they would make her friends, but she couldn't go back now, not after she'd convinced herself she was doing the right thing, and sending letters was better than giving her friends no goodbye at all, so she dropped them into the box and hurried away.

At the news station, the manager wasn't happy to see her after her abrupt departure the last time she'd been in Chicago. He was a short, balding man who smelled of cheap whiskey, but he wasn't a cruel man. He listened quietly as Jackie pleaded her case, and when she had finished, he sat back and eyed her thoughtfully.

"You know, Ms. Burkhart, I always thought you'd make an excellent reporter one day."

Jackie smiled timidly and inclined her head in a polite nod. "Thank you, Mr. Ackerson."

"But after the way you left the station, I'm not sure you're committed to this news team. We here at WBBM are a very close-knit group, and we value loyalty a great deal." He paused and stared at her intently. "Now, you've impressed me before, Ms. Burkhart. After only two weeks here, you managed to work your way up to co-anchor. No one in the history of this station has been able to do that."

A gracious smile spread over Jackie's face. "Thank you, sir."

"However," Mr. Ackerson continued, and Jackie's face fell a little. "The people who have the best positions here, the anchors, the reporters, they've all earned their stripes, so to speak. Most of them have been here for years, and they know this station inside and out. I saw the potential in you, Ms. Burkhart, and I decided to take a chance on you because I believed some day you'd make a great reporter. After the way you left, I'm beginning to think I made a mistake." He raised a brow. "Did I make a mistake, Ms. Burkhart?"

Jackie shook her head. "No, Mr. Ackerson, I was the one who made the mistake. When I left, I guess it was because I wasn't completely committed to the job. I thought I still had a future back home…" she trailed off and shook her head, realizing she had gotten off topic. "I swear to you, Mr. Ackerson, I am committed now."

Mr. Ackerson rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "Well, the co-anchor position has already been filled. It'll be hard to work your way up again, Ms. Burkhart. It could take months or even years for you to become a co-anchor again, and then of course I'll have to evaluate you and make sure you're ready to be a reporter."

"That's fine!" Jackie said eagerly. "I have been waiting my whole life to be a reporter, I can wait a few more years. I am dedicated to this news station, Mr. Ackerson, and I'm totally willing to work my way up to prove that to you; I'll take any position you offer me."

He gave her a smile. "I'm glad to hear that, Ms. Burkhart, because a position has recently opened up."

She beamed at him. "I'll take it!"

"Good, here is a list of errands for you to run," Mr. Ackerson said, handing Jackie a clipboard and a pen. "Oh, and make sure you get plenty of jelly donuts, they go fast."

* * *

Hyde was sitting in his usual spot in front of the TV, his shades on and his feet propped up on the circle table. He was watching _Donahue _and was really getting into it when a clearly furious Donna stormed through the basement door.

"What the hell did you do?" she screamed.

Hyde looked up at her, his expression blank. "What are you talking about?"

"This!" Donna shouted, shoving a letter into his hands.

Opening the letter, Hyde began to read:

_Donna,_

_I know I haven't always been there for you when you needed me, and I have to apologize because I'm not going to be now either. I'm leaving. I tried to talk things through with Steven, but he still refuses to listen to me. I can't bear to stay here and see him with Sam; it's just too hard. And I can't sit back and pretend that nothing happened between us like he can. So I'm going back to Chicago. I didn't exactly leave WBBM on the best terms, but I'm hoping they'll give me another shot. I can't keep putting off my future in the hopes that Steven will come around and realize he loves me. You'll probably hate me for doing this to you, especially since it's all in a letter, but I knew if I spoke to you in person or called you on the phone you would've tried to stop me from leaving, and this is just something I have to do. I know you've been upset since Eric left, and I know that as your best friend it was my duty to comfort you, but I just can't stay in Point Place. There's nothing there for me anymore. I hope you can understand that, Donna, and I hope you know how hard it was for me to leave. I promise you I will keep in touch, and as soon as I get my own place, I will be sure to invite you and the others down here for a visit._

_Love always,_

_Jackie_

"She's gone?" Hyde asked, almost to himself.

Donna nodded, still glaring at him. "Yeah, she's gone. And I blame you. I don't know what you said to her to make her leave…"

He cut her off, his own anger coming through as he said, "What _I_ said? Do you know she slept with Fez?"

Donna's voice softened slightly and she dropped down onto the couch. "Yes. But, Hyde, she slept with him because she was upset. She came back here to be with you, and then your wife shows up, whom, by the way, you didn't even remember marrying. How do you think that made her feel?"

"Probably the same way I felt when I found out she'd slept with Kelso," Hyde retorted.

Shaking her head, Donna said quietly, "Hyde, she didn't sleep with Kelso, and you know it."

Hyde shrugged, but he knew deep down she was right. Jackie wouldn't have hurt him like that, even if Kelso wouldn't have thought twice about it. But admitting he'd been an ass wouldn't fix anything; he was married now.

"Look, Hyde, you've both made mistakes," Donna said softly.

"I'm staying married to Sam," he said quickly, cutting her off.

Donna blinked, dumbfounded. "You're what? You can't stay married to her!"

Hyde dragged a hand through his hair and leaned toward her. "Donna, I know I made a big mistake. I should've believed Jackie when she told me she hadn't slept with Kelso, but the fact is, I didn't, and now I'm married. Saying I'm sorry isn't going to reverse everything that happened."

"So you think staying married to a woman you don't love while the woman you do tries to pick up the pieces of her broken life in Chicago is the way to fix all this?" Donna asked incredulously.

"Look, Jackie's gone. She wants to start her life over. And I've got a new life here, with Sam. Too much has happened between us, Donna. We can't just turn our backs on the past and pretend it didn't exist."

Donna shrugged. "Maybe not, but you can talk things over. You can work all of this out, Hyde."

He shook his head.

Donna stood and looked down at him, her eyes hardening in anger. "You are a coward, Steven Hyde," she said, her voice cold and steady, and then left the basement.

Hyde's head dropped into his hands, but immediately snapped back up at the sound of the basement door crashing open. He groaned inwardly as he looked up at his visitor.

"What the hell, Hyde?" Michael Kelso shouted, waving a letter at him.


	7. Convincing Steven Hyde: part I

A/N: All right, so I'm thinking this story will have 9 or 10 chapters, so I've got a few more to go. Oh, also, this is not the chapter where Sam leaves. I know, I promised she'd be gone, and I'm really sorry, but this chapter turned out longer than I'd expected and I decided to split it up into two. However, she's not actually _in _this chapter, she's just _mentioned_, and she will be written out of the story completely by the next chapter. So yeah, please don't hate me again! I really appreciate all the reviews, they really keep me motivated, so thank you everyone who reviewed!

Chapter Seven – Convincing Steven Hyde: part I

Hyde sighed heavily. "God, Kelso, not you too."

"Not me too, what?" Kelso replied, momentarily forgetting his anger in his confusion.

"I see you have a letter from Jackie," Hyde said, indicating the crinkled letter in Kelso's hand.

Kelso eyed him suspiciously. "How did you know it was from Jackie?"

"I'm psychic," Hyde retorted sarcastically, and then demanded, "Give it to me," as he reached out for the letter.

Holding the letter just out of Hyde's grasp, Kelso taunted, "Well, if you're psychic, then why don't you just tell _me_ what the letter says?"

Hyde rolled his eyes. "Because I'm not really psychic, you moron. Donna was just here; she had a letter from Jackie, too."

Kelso set his jaw. "So you already know she's gone." It wasn't a question, or really a statement; it was more an accusation; Kelso was blaming Hyde for Jackie leaving.

"Yeah," Hyde said quietly and sat back in his chair. "I know she's gone."

Taking a seat on the couch, Kelso said, "And you know this is all your fault right?"

A corner of Hyde's mouth quirked upwards in a half-smirk. "Yeah, that's also been brought to my attention."

"Good," Kelso stated firmly and crossed his arms over his chest.

"So let me see the letter, man," Hyde said, holding out his hand again.

Kelso turned his head in Hyde's direction, made a face and asked snottily, "Is it addressed to _you_?"

"Kelso…" Hyde warned, glaring at him.

Sulking, Kelso shouted, "Fine!" and practically threw the letter at Hyde.

Hyde rolled his eyes, but took the letter anyway. Unfolding the wrinkled paper, he saw her familiar loopy handwriting, the I's all dotted with smiley faces, and he suppressed his own smile, thinking how strange it was that something so childish had grown on him and now seemed endearingly sweet. He was always amazed by these little things that reminded him of Jackie, or reminded him why, even when she could be insufferably shallow and bitchy, underneath she was vulnerable and innocent. It was times like these when he remembered why he'd fallen in love with her, why he felt a strong need to protect her and care for her. He shook his head at his own musings and focused on the letter. It read:

_Dear Michael,_

_I should be extremely pissed off at you right now, but I just can't be. After everything we've been through together, it seems wrong to throw it all away because of a misunderstanding, a misunderstanding, may I remind you, that you could have avoided. Anyway, I'm writing this to you because I'm leaving. I'm going back to Chicago, and I don't want you to come after me. I need to start my life and stop moping around about Steven. And I've forgiven you, Michael, for not telling him the truth right away. Like I said, I just can't bring myself to hate you, even though I totally have every right to. I'm sorry for telling you this way, but I couldn't risk seeing everyone in person; it would be too awkward to face Steven again. But on the bright side, now when you visit Brooke and she kicks you out, you can come and stay with me! I will always be here for you, Michael, and even though I think we both know we're better off as friends, I will always love you._

_XOXO,_

_Jackie_

Hyde handed back the letter and shrugged. "So I guess you really didn't nail her." Of course, he already knew that, he was just too stubborn to actually admit it until the words were glaring him in the face.

Kelso folded up the letter and grinned at his friend. "Well it wasn't because I didn't try," he said slyly, and then grunted when Hyde frogged him on the arm. "Hey, you can't blame a guy for trying," he grumbled as he rubbed the sore spot.

"Kelso, she was my girlfriend!" Hyde cried.

"Yeah, well," Kelso huffed, "why do you care anyway? You've got a hot blonde stripper for a wife! And, I mean, Jackie was pretty feisty in the sack, but a stripper's gotta be like…well, I don't know, like something that's better than Jackie!"

Hyde was silent. Sure, sex with Sam had been fun, but there was just something about being with Jackie. He didn't know what it was, nor did he care to examine the issue too critically for fear of uncovering a deeply rooted emotion at the source, but something had always made sex with Jackie far better than anything else. And despite the number of girls he'd slept with before her, he'd never felt that, and somehow he knew he'd never find it again after her.

"Besides," Kelso continued, breaking Hyde from his reverie. "You stole her from me first, so I was just getting you back."

A small grin formed on Hyde's lips as he glanced at his friend. "Yeah, I guess I did have that coming."

Kelso pointed a finger at him. "Although, to be fair, you only stole her from me because I took off for California. If I hadn't gone, Jackie and I would probably be married right now." He chuckled. "Man, think of how different things would've been if I'd stayed!"

And Hyde did. He thought of how he and Jackie never would've kissed again, how they never would've begun their little fling and how it never would've gotten so out of control and turned into something much more than either of them thought they had been looking for. He thought of how he never would've been able to hold her or touch her, how he never would've been able to make her laugh or make her furious, how he never would've fallen in love with her despite his best efforts not to.

He suddenly realized Kelso was looking at him, waiting expectantly for some kind of response to his last comment. Hyde stood up and clapped his friend on the back. "Actually, by now, you probably would've been divorced."

Ignoring the jibe, Kelso said, "Speaking of divorce…"

But Hyde cut him off, knowing exactly what was coming. "Look, man, things are complicated. Jackie clearly wants to move on, and I pretty much already have, so why go back?"

Kelso sighed. "Listen, Hyde, Sam's hot, I'm not gonna lie, but you and I both know you don't love her. And even if you still claim you don't love Jackie, you can't deny that you were happy when you were with her; we all saw you two together," his tone changed, becoming bitter as he continued, "with the touching, and the kissing, and the big googly eyes…"

"Hey!" Hyde shouted, offended and trying to save his rapidly disintegrating reputation. "I did not make googly eyes at Jackie, _ever_!"

"Yeah, well I miss the googly eyes," Kelso pouted.

Hyde just shook his head.

* * *

The newsroom was crowded; people were bustling all about carrying papers, clipboards, folders, and all other manner of office supplies. Some were standing in groups; their heads bent low over files as they crossed out and rewrote phrases on their memos. Most barely noticed Jackie as she wound her way through them, carrying a Styrofoam drink holder with six plastic cups of soda in one hand and a bag of sandwiches in the other, but a few that she had become close with before she'd left called out greetings or waved as she dodged past. She didn't have time to stop, however, as she made her way through the labyrinth of people to Mr. Ackerson's office at the end of a long corridor and knocked softly on his door.

"Come in!" came the booming voice from within, and Jackie obediently pushed open the door and stepped into his large, oval office.

Setting down her supplies, Jackie smiled at him. "Good afternoon, Mr. Ackerson." She glanced around at the six others in the office and smiled a greeting at them. This was the WBBM news team: the anchor, Daniel, nephew of Mr. Ackerson, his co-anchor, a woman Jackie vaguely recalled was named Cheryl, the weatherman, Roger, the sports castor, Tom, and Linda and Jerry, two of WBBM's top reporters.

"Ah, Ms. Burkhart," Mr. Ackerson greeted with a smile. "I see you've brought lunch." He stepped forward and dug around inthe bag, pulled out a sandwich, and then looked around at the others. "Dig in, everyone."

The others got up from their seats and headed toward the refreshments, each pausing to offer Jackie a smile or to ask how she was doing since they'd last seen her. Even Cheryl, the woman Jackie didn't really know, offered her a little wave as she grabbed her drink and a sandwich and sat back down at the large mahogany table.

"Oh, Jackie, it's so great to see you!" Linda cried as she stepped forward, enveloping Jackie in a big hug.

Linda had always been one of Jackie's favorite people at the station. She was an incredible journalist, and only two years older than Jackie, serving as the perfect role model for the aspiring reporter. The two had immediately bonded when they'd met and had formed a fast friendship.

"Linda, how have you been?" Jackie squealed as she hugged the slightly taller blonde.

"Busy as usual," Linda replied with a roll of her eyes as she stepped back. She glanced over at the table where Cheryl was picking the tomatoes off her sandwich and commented, "I see you've met the new co-anchor."

Jackie glanced over her shoulder at the small woman with short auburn hair and nodded. "She doesn't seem too bad."

"No, she's all right," Linda conceded, and then leaned forward to whisper conspiratorially, "but she's no Jackie Burkhart. Believe me, we're all pushing for your return to the team. It just isn't the same without the Jackie magic." She winked at her friend and took her lunch back to the table, seating herself next to Roger.

Jackie's face flushed at the compliment, but she couldn't help the swell of pride she felt. At least they weren't bitter at her for leaving; that had been her biggest fear. On the contrary, it seemed now that she was back, the whole team appeared grateful for her return, and apparently, very anxious for her to be back on the set with them. She felt a slight twinge of guilt for Cheryl because she seemed a decent person, but she shrugged it off. If she wanted to regain her place on the WBBM news team, she was going to have to be a little bit ruthless.

"Jackie, it's good to have you back," said a voice from behind her, and Jackie whipped around.

"Oh, Daniel," she said and smiled at him. "Thank you. I'm certainly happy to be back."

Daniel was a very handsome man, with sandy brown hair and dark green eyes. He had also taken an immediate liking to Jackie, and had enjoyed working so closely with her. In fact, he had a bit of a crush on her, and had asked her out for coffee on more than one occasion. Jackie had always declined, and he understood; she'd told him about her horrible break-up with her boyfriend, Steven. When she'd left the station to return to him, Daniel had been disappointed, but his uncle assured him that Jackie had no intention of returning to Point Place this time, and Daniel couldn't help but hope that this time she wouldn't dismiss him so easily.

"I've been putting in a good word for you," he said with a wink. "Sometimes it helps having a friend with connections."

Jackie gave him a shy smile. "Well, I appreciate that, I really do, but I've already explained to your uncle that I'm totally prepared to climb my way up the ladder, one rung at a time."

Daniel nodded. "That's very admirable, Jackie." He flashed her a charming smile. "I'm sure it'll take you no time at all to win back everyone's hearts."

Another blush crept up Jackie's cheeks, but thankfully, Mr. Ackerson's voice saved her from having to reply.

"All right, everyone, let's get down to business," he called and the chatter immediately ceased.

Jackie took her cue and quietly slipped out of the room as Daniel turned back to his uncle and began his presentation. She closed the door quietly behind her and exhaled slowly, leaning her back against the door. She was attracted to Daniel, hell, anyone with _eyes_ would be attracted to him, but she _so_ wasn't ready to start dating again. All she wanted was to concentrate on work and finding a decent apartment. Maybe then, after she was completely settled back in Chicago, maybe she would try dating again, _maybe_.

She glanced at her watch. It was a quarter past noon, time to take her lunch break. She hurried through the throng of people milling about the station and into a back room where the coats were kept. Pulling hers on, she quickly snatched up her purse and dashed out the door. She told one of the station managers that she was going to lunch, and then headed out into the chilly autumn air. The motel where she was still staying wasn't too far from the station, but it was cold, so Jackie hailed a cab. She directed the driver to a quaint little restaurant she'd seen while apartment hunting, and hurried inside to order while he waited. Then, with her lunch ready to go, she directed the driver back to her motel.

Once inside her room, Jackie set her lunch on the little table by the door, sat down on the bed, and picked up the phone. She had decided it was time to call Donna. The former redhead would have undoubtedly gotten her letter by now, and Jackie was extremely nervous; she didn't want a confrontation. She wanted to call Donna because she wanted to make amends, to make sure that they could still be friends even after her abrupt departure from Point Place. Truth be told, Jackie was lonely in Chicago. Sure, she had her job, and she had Linda and a few others whom she'd come to like, but she missed the talks she and Donna had always had, the closeness they'd shared. She didn't know anyone at the station well enough to feel that kind of closeness, and she found herself missing the lumberjack desperately.

Taking a deep breath, Jackie dialed the familiar number and waited, holding her breath, for the answer.

"Hello?" came Donna's voice on the other line.

"Donna, hi, it's Jackie."

A/N: Okay, sorry for the slight cliffhanger there, but like I said, this chapter just got to be way too long! Next chapter should be up the beginning of the week, so stay tuned and please review! Thanks!


	8. Convincing Steven Hyde: part II

A/N: As promised, Sam will be gone this chapter! Also, still not sure how long this story will be. I have it planned to 9 or 10 chapters, but as I write, my ideas change and I have to adapt the chapters as I go. Originally this story was planned to only 8 chapters. I'm hoping to get it done in 10, but we'll see. Anyway, thanks for all the reviews, I greatly appreciate them and they really keep me motivated to continue!

Chapter Eight – Convincing Steven Hyde: part II

There was silence on the other end of the line, and Jackie nervously wrapped the phone cord around her finger, biting her lower lip as she waited for a response.

Finally, after what felt like an eternity, Donna's voice asked, "Jackie?"

Letting out the breath she'd been holding, Jackie smiled a little. "Yeah, Donna, it's me."

"Wow, I didn't expect you to call, I figured you'd said pretty much everything you needed to say in your letter."

Jackie winced slightly at the bitter tone in her friend's voice, but she had to accept the fact that she'd left Donna without a proper goodbye, and just when Donna had needed her most. "I know, and I'm sorry about that," Jackie said quietly. "I just…I needed to get out, you know? After what happened with Steven, and then what happened with Fez; things just became a mess."

"Yeah and running away has had such good results before," Donna's voice scoffed. "Like when you ran away the first time, and then when Hyde ran away to Vegas, oh yeah, and when Eric ran away to Africa."

"Donna, I know you're upset with me, and I'm not blaming you," Jackie placated. "I was a horrible friend, and I wasn't there for you when you needed me." She paused and sighed. "I'm not expecting you to forgive me, I just wanted to apologize and to tell you that you're still my friend, even if I'm not yours."

Another long moment of silence followed Jackie's words. At length, Donna conceded, "Jackie, I understand why you left, but I just want to let you know that I think you took the coward's way out. You could have stayed and made things better with Hyde, or with Fez, and you should've stayed because I was always there for you when you needed me – I let you live at my house for God's sake – and now, when I actually really need you, you're gone."

"I know, Donna, and all I can tell you is that I'm so sorry," Jackie said.

Donna sighed. "I know you're sorry."

When she didn't say anything more, Jackie smiled and asked sweetly, "So you forgive me, right?"

She could almost hear Donna's eyes rolling. "Yes, Jackie, I forgive you."

Jackie exhaled with relief. "Thank God, because I have a _lot_ to tell you."

* * *

Hyde was alone again in the basement; Kelso had left an hour ago for the Hub. The TV was tuned in to _Little House on the Prairie_, and Hyde smirked at the screen. He had been mulling over what Kelso had said to him, thinking of how his life had been with Jackie, and the show seemed to fit; it reminded him of a simpler time. Though his life with Jackie had still been filled with ups and downs, it wasn't nearly as complicated as his life was now. With Jackie, he'd known where he stood: she was his girlfriend and she made him happy, and gradually, his feelings for her had grown deeper, and though he'd only ever admitted it to her that one time, he did love her. It was the simple formula he'd always been told love followed: meet a girl, fall in love, get married. Simple. And even if it had taken them awhile to get to the second part, and the journey had seemed anything but simple, they had eventually achieved that goal, and they had been very slowly inching towards that last step. With Sam, Hyde felt at a loss; liked he'd skipped some vital steps in the formula. He had met the girl, but he'd somehow passed over the second part and had gone straight to the third, leaving him with a situation that seemed to continually grow in its complexity. On the one hand, he felt he had basically moved on and had forced Jackie to as well, so he really had no right to go barging in on her life. But on the other hand, he felt he wasn't happy with his life, and going after her could mean changing his life, making it better again.

The basement door opened, and Hyde looked up to see Fez standing in the doorway. His jaw clenched, and he was thankful his sunglasses were firmly in place as he stared hard at the foreigner.

"I assume you've come here to yell at me too?"

Fez shrugged and sat down in the lawn chair. "That was the plan."

Hyde smiled grimly and leaned forward. "Let me save you the trouble. Donna and Kelso have already both been by. They've let me know, in no uncertain terms, that Jackie leaving is all my fault. Oh, and that I'm making a huge mistake by staying married to Sam." He spread his hands and sat back. "So, now that that's all settled, you can go."

Fez nodded. "I see, well, I do agree with them on one point. Jackie did leave because of you." His eyes were hard as they looked at Hyde. "However, I would disagree with them on the second point. I do not think it's a mistake to stay married to Sam."

Hyde frowned, puzzled. "You think I should stay married to Sam?"

"Oh, yes," Fez replied darkly. "Sam is perfect for you; she's the perfect lie for you to hide behind. By staying married to Sam, you don't ever have to feel anything for anyone again."

"What are you talking about?" Hyde snapped.

"You don't love Sam, Hyde," Fez stated flatly. "You're staying married to her because you're mad at Jackie and you're putting up a wall to prevent yourself from getting hurt. Your relationship with Jackie wasn't supposed to get serious, but it did, and that scared you. You tried not to, but you fell in love with her anyway, and that terrified you. Then she left, forcing you to make the biggest decision of your life, and you chickened out when you got to her. Instead of staying and listening to her, you took it as an excuse to leave, and then convinced yourself it was because she was cheating on you. You married Sam because you were angry with Jackie, not because she had been cheating on you with Kelso, but because she'd made you fall in love with her and you were terrified of what that would mean. And now, you're staying married to Sam because she's convenient. She doesn't make you think, she doesn't make demands, and she doesn't make you feel."

Hyde was stunned. Fez had him pegged; he understood Hyde's motives better than Hyde did himself! "So what are you saying I should do?" he asked calmly, trying to hide his surprise.

Fez shrugged. "That, my friend, is entirely up to you." He stood and stared intently at Hyde. "Ever since I've met Jackie, the only thing I've wanted was to be with her. I would treat her better than you ever could." He sighed and shook his head, smirking slightly. "But for some crazy reason, she loves you."

"Fez, there's so much that's happened between us," Hyde began, staring down at his hands. "Even if I tried to get her back, I don't see how she could forgive me."

"You have screwed up, a _lot_, maybe more than Kelso," Fez agreed and smiled at his friend in amusement.

Hyde glared at him. "That's not helping."

Reaching into his pocket, Fez pulled out a crumpled letter and handed it to Hyde. "Maybe this will," he said and then turned and left.

Hyde looked at the letter and rolled his eyes as he saw "Fez" written in Jackie's handwriting. "Man, am I the only one she didn't write a letter to?" he asked as he opened it up and began reading:

_Dear Fez,_

_I don't know how else to tell you this, so I'll just come out and say it. I'm moving back to Chicago. I've decided it's time for me to move on with my life; Steven has clearly moved on with his. Whatever I thought might happen between us when I came back was just a silly whim. I am sorry for the impersonal goodbye, but I didn't want to run the risk of seeing him again, or of having you try to stop me from going. And I'm also sorry for that night. I know we both decided it was just a one-time thing, but I still shouldn't have used you like that. I was hurting because unfortunately, I still love Steven, I think I'll always love him, and he chose someone else. I guess that's probably how you feel right now, and I'm truly sorry that things between us can never be what you want them to be. But Fez, I want you to know that you mean the world to me, and I do love you. You are one of my best friends, and I'll always be grateful to you for being there for me that night when I desperately needed someone. You've always been there for me, and I hope you know how much that means to me. I'll see you soon, I promise._

_Love,_

_Jackie_

Hyde sat back and folded up the letter. _She still loves me,_ he thought, and he couldn't help the smile that crept over his lips, or the warmth that thought sent coursing through his veins. _She still loves me, and that means I have a chance._

He was still smiling softly to himself when Sam entered the basement. She cocked her head to the side as she saw him there, a dazed expression on his face, and came to stand in front of him.

"What are you so happy about?" she asked, a smirk on her lips.

Hyde snapped out of his daze and looked up at her. "Oh, Sam, uh…hey, we need to talk." He took her hand and she sat down on the couch, looking quizzically at him.

"What's wrong?"

"Well, it's just…Sam, I think we should get a divorce," Hyde said, his voice steady.

Sam frowned. "But why? Steven, aren't you happy with me?"

He sighed and raked a hand through his hair. "Sam, being married to you has been…well, easy. You don't tell me what to do, you don't force me to work harder, and you bring me beer." She smiled at his words, but it faded as he continued, "But that's the problem. You don't drive me crazy, and that's something I apparently need. Being with you is like riding a Ferris wheel; it can be fun, but it's predictable and it doesn't change. I need to be on a roller coaster. I need to feel the ups and downs, the hairpin turns, the loops, everything. I need to feel challenged and afraid."

"So you don't want to be married to me because I'm not a roller coaster?" Sam asked, confused.

Hyde grinned. "Exactly!"

Sam leaned forward and took his hands. "Steven, I don't understand. I thought things were going great between us."

"Sam, you're just…not what I want," Hyde said, putting her hands back in her lap. He stood up, but her hand on his arm stopped him.

"Wait, so what does this mean? You're asking me to move out?"

Hyde nodded. "Yeah, Sam. Pack up your stuff and I'll drive you to the airport. I'll go to the lawyer tomorrow and get the papers, then I'll send them to you." With that, he headed out of the basement.

* * *

"That's great, Jackie!" Donna exclaimed on the other end of the line. "I knew it wouldn't take you long to find an apartment."

"Yeah, it's so perfect, Donna," Jackie squealed excitedly. "It's small, but that's okay, I'll get used to it."

"When do you move in?"

Jackie grinned. "That's the best part! The landlord said I could be in by the beginning of the week!"

"Wow, that soon?" Donna asked, surprised. "Jackie, that's only a few days."

"I know, but I just can't take living in this hellhole any longer," Jackie replied, glancing around the motel room with a mixture of hatred and disgust.

"Well, that gives us the perfect excuse to come down and see you!" Donna cried happily.

Jackie gasped. "Oh my God, Donna, I hadn't even thought of that! Oh, now I'm even more excited!"

"Yeah, I'll tell the guys and we'll all head up there this weekend."

Jackie's smile instantly faded. "Wait, all of you? As in, Steven and his stripper wife too?"

"No, no, not Sam," Donna assured. "Just the guys."

"So that includes Steven?" Jackie asked, her voice full of dread.

"Well, I'm sure he'll want to see you too, Jackie," Donna tried to explain, but Jackie just snorted.

"I doubt it, Donna. The last conversation we had wasn't exactly pleasant, and you know the letters I wrote to you and Michael and Fez to tell you goodbye? Well, I didn't even give him that."

"Ouch," Donna said.

Jackie nodded. "Yeah, so I highly doubt he'll want to come down." She brushed her hair off her shoulders and said flippantly, "Not that it matters. In fact, I'm totally over Steven." She ignored Donna's snort of disbelief and continued, "Actually, there's this really cute guy that I work with. His name's Daniel and he's been after me since the last time I was in Chicago. I should invite him to come help us."

Donna hesitated. "Well, I guess, Jackie, I mean, if you think he'd like to help."

Jackie laughed. "Why wouldn't he, Donna? He'll get to spend a whole day with me." Silence met her comment and Jackie asked, annoyance evident in her voice, "Donna? Hello?" Still no answer. Jackie was really annoyed now and she practically shouted into the phone, "Donna!"

Donna's voice was unsteady as she came over the line. "Uh, Jackie, I'll call you later."

"Wait, Donna!" Jackie cried, but the dial tone answered her. She sighed and placed the phone back on its cradle.

Meanwhile, in Point Place, Donna was staring wide-eyed at the door. "Oh my God, Eric?"


	9. About Time

A/N: This chapter kinda got away from me; the Eric/Donna scene turned out longer than I'd expected, so I had to push back the Chicago stuff till next chapter, which means that this story might run into 11 chapters. However, I have a few different ideas for an ending, and I'm not sure which one I'll go with, so it's possible the next chapter will be the last. Anyway, I've never really written E/D, so forgive me if they're OOC. I tried! A tremendous amount of gratitude to each and every person who has reviewed this story thus far. I am immensely grateful for all the support and the encouragement! You guys are all awesome!

Chapter Nine – About Time

Eric's breath hitched in his throat at the sight of her. If possible, she looked more beautiful than when he'd left. He realized she was staring at him, mouth agape and eyes wide as saucers, and he set his bags down gently on her kitchen floor and tentatively came further into the room. He opened his mouth, intending to speak, to tell her how much he'd missed her and how much he loved her, but all that came out was a tiny squeak. His cheeks flushed crimson at the noise, and Donna blinked, the spell broken.

"Eric, what are you doing here?"

He swallowed the lump in his throat, clearing his airway so he could again attempt to speak. "I…I came back," was all he could come up with, and mentally he kicked himself for sounding so incredibly lame.

Donna's brow quirked up mockingly. "I can see that. I guess what I should have said was _why _are you here?"

Eric winced at the tone of her voice. He couldn't really blame her for being upset, but all the way home, through the seemingly endless flight and the agonizingly slow cab ride from the airport, all he had thought about was seeing her again. He had envisioned appearing at her door and being received with an enormous smile and an enveloping hug. He had thought, naively, she would be happy to see him. He had forgotten how well his Donna could hold a grudge.

"Donna, I missed you," he said softly, hoping to convey with his voice how sorry he was.

Donna wasn't budging. Her arms were folded across her chest, her eyes narrowed as she stared at him. "Explanation," was all she said, her tone even.

He sighed heavily. "I wanted to call you so many times, but it just hurt so much to talk to you and never be able to see you. We've lived next door to each other like our entire lives, and any time I wanted to see you, all I had to do was walk ten feet and I was at your house. Every time I talked to you over the phone, it just reminded me that we weren't living next door anymore, that I couldn't see you at all. And the whole reason I left was to make things better for us. I wanted to be able to pay for my college and be the man you needed, but once I was there, I realized how selfish it was of me to expect you to wait for me. You have so much potential, and I know if you put your mind to it, you could do anything you wanted; hell, you could even break the barrier and become the CEO of a company someday instead of a lousy secretary." He looked up hopefully for a glint of amusement in Donna's eyes or the faint twitching of a smirk at her lips, and his heart sank as he saw neither.

"Look, Donna, I just didn't want to hold you back. I mean, you stayed here for me when you could've gone to college; you put your life on hold to wait for me, and you have no idea how guilty I felt for not stopping you then. I just couldn't live with myself if I made you do that again."

"So all of this was for me?" Donna asked.

Eric's gaze snapped to hers, a hopeful look on his face. "Yes. Donna, I never meant to hurt you, I just did what I thought was best for you."

Donna nodded, but when she spoke, her voice was infused with sarcasm. "Well, Eric, you did a great job. I wanted to spend my life with you, so I sacrificed things that were important to me to _be_ with you, and then you run halfway across the globe to go be something you _thought_ I needed, and then to top it all off, you decided it was best for _me_ if we broke up, and the least hurtful way you could think of was in a letter." She glared at him. "So I guess what was best for _me_ was for you to break my heart over and over again."

Eric's eyes were wide with shock. He had no idea he'd hurt her this much. It had been incredibly hard for him to make that decision, but in his heart he'd felt he was doing the right thing. Forcing her to put off her own life so he could catch up to her was selfish and unfair, and that was truly the only thing he'd thought about when he'd put pen to paper and written that infamous letter.

"Donna, I swear, I never wanted to hurt you," he pleaded. "Writing that letter was the hardest thing I've ever done, and you're right, it was stupid and cruel, but I couldn't…I couldn't bear to hear your voice. I wanted to be strong, for you, and I knew if I heard your voice…I'd crumble."

She shook her head. "You honestly thought the best thing for me was for you to break up with me?"

"I thought the best thing for you was to just…move on with your life." His gaze slipped to the floor, his voice almost inaudible as he continued, "Donna, I've never been good enough for you. Ever since we started dating, all I've ever heard is 'How the hell did you get her?' or 'She's your cousin, right?' No one ever thought I was good enough for you, and I finally understand that now. You could do so much better, and I felt that if you stayed with me, you'd be missing out on all those bigger opportunities. But I'm a coward, Donna, and the only way I could force myself to do what I thought was right was by writing that letter."

"So why did you come back?" she asked quietly.

Eric wavered, uncertain as to what to say. He knew his answer would only hurt her more, and since he'd already done his fair share of that for one lifetime, he was hesitant to add to her pain. He looked up into her eyes, and the only thing he could think to say was, "I love you."

Donna scowled at him. "You love me? After all that, the only thing you can say is that you love me? Eric, you put me through hell for a year, and now you come back here and expect me to forget everything because you still love me?"

He gave her a sheepish grin. "Yes?"

Rolling her eyes, Donna placed her hands on her hips. "You're gonna have to do better than that," she said, but her voice had lost most of its rancor.

Eric sighed, but he could sense Donna was caving. Still, he owed her this explanation. "Teaching those kids was amazing," he began, watching her closely, "but it wasn't what I thought it would be, and I realized that was because of you. The highlight of my day was calling you and telling you everything that had happened, and listening to you talk about things back here, and when I sent that letter, I didn't have that anymore. I didn't have anything to look forward to at the end of the day. I realized how much I missed you and how much you really meant to me, and I decided to hell with what everybody else thinks. You were willing to put off your life to let me decide what I wanted to do with mine, and now that I know, there's nothing more that I want than to spend that life with you."

Tears began forming in Donna's eyes as she stared at him. His voice was completely sincere, and she could see the truth in his eyes. Her resolve to stay mad at him began to crumble, and she didn't even recoil when he took a step towards her.

"I'm sorry…for everything," he said, reaching out a hand and gently tracing the curve of her cheek with his fingers.

"God, Eric, you're such a dumbass," Donna breathed, all traces of anger in her voice gone.

Eric smirked. "Yeah, I guess Red was right all along." Then his lips were against hers, and Donna found herself clinging to him, kissing him back fervently, pouring every bit of emotion she had in her into the kiss.

Pulling away slightly, Eric gazed into her eyes. "Donna, I really missed you, and God, I just love you so much."

She nodded frantically, not really hearing a word he was saying. "Uh-huh," she replied absently, pushing him backwards. "And I'm going to love hearing all about how sorry you are and what a stupid dillhole you've been after."

"After?" he asked, and then uttered a startled cry as he hit the kitchen table.

"Yes, after," Donna repeated, and pushed him onto the table, climbing on top of him and sealing her mouth over his, silencing any other questions he might have.

* * *

Eric plopped down in his usual seat, grinning like an idiot at his three friends. "Man, it is so good to be home," he said and giggled.

"Donna gave you welcome-home-sex, didn't she?" Kelso correctly guessed, smirking at Eric from across the circle.

Trying to remain modest, Eric said, "No, she…okay, yeah, she totally did!"

Kelso grinned. "Welcome-home-sex is the best, man. Oh, except for make-up-sex. Oh, and going-away-sex. And can-I-have-a-pretzel-sex."

Hyde frowned. "Can-I-have-a-pretzel-sex?"

"Yeah, see, this one time I was in the park and that hot pretzel lady was working, so I asked if I could have a pretzel, and next thing I know, we're going at it behind the pretzel cart!" Kelso cried proudly.

"You are such a whore," Eric laughed.

"Oh, Eric, it is so good to have you home," Fez said as he popped a Tootsie Roll into his mouth.

"Yeah, man, things just weren't the same without you," Hyde agreed and clapped Eric on the shoulder.

Eric smiled. "Yeah, so I hear. What's this about you being married?"

Hyde's muscles tensed, and Kelso and Fez grinned at him. "He's a little sensitive about that," Kelso said, patting Hyde on the back.

"He was married to a whore," Fez added, and inhaled another piece of candy.

"She wasn't a whore, Fez, she was a stripper," Kelso corrected, and dodged a punch from Hyde.

Fez shrugged. "Eh, same difference."

"Wait, wait, you married a stripper?" Eric asked, barely controlling his laughter. "Oh, man, Donna didn't tell me _that_ part!"

Hyde scowled. "I was drunk okay?"

Eric smiled knowingly. "Yeah, the last time I remember seeing you drunk, you almost married Jackie." Then it dawned on him. "Holy crap, Hyde, you'll marry just about anyone when you're drunk!"

"Burn!" Kelso shouted, and deftly ducked another blow from Hyde.

"I will not marry just about anyone," Hyde snapped, irritated. "It just so happens that one time when I was drunk I almost married someone, and then another time when I was drunk I actually did. But that doesn't mean anything."

"Hmm, I think I see a pattern here," Fez sing-songed.

Hyde glared at him briefly and then turned back to Eric. "Whatever, man, it doesn't matter anymore because we're getting divorced. I went to the courthouse today and picked up the papers. I've already signed them, so all I have to do now is send them to Sam and then forward them on to the lawyer."

"And then what're you gonna do?" Eric asked, his eyebrows raised suggestively, as if he already knew the answer to his own question.

Donna appeared then, and Hyde was thankful that Eric's attention immediately shifted to her as she sat down next to him and kissed him heartily on the mouth. The others groaned loudly, voicing their disgust at the display of affection, but Donna just tossed her head and said, "Oh, shut up," as she snuggled against her boyfriend's side.

"So, Donna, when do we leave for Chicago?" Eric asked as he draped an arm around her shoulders.

"Wait, Chicago?" Hyde interrupted, looking back and forth between the two. "You guys are going to Chicago? To see Jackie?"

Nervously clearing her throat, Donna said, "Yeah, she called me the other day. She's found an apartment, and I suggested we all godown there to help her move."

"So now you're all going?" Hyde said, his voice accusing.

"We would've invited you, buddy," Eric placated.

"But Jackie doesn't want you there," Fez stated bluntly.

Donna and Eric glared at him, but he ignored them, unwrapping another Tootsie Roll and shoving it into his mouth.

Hyde frowned. "She said that?"

Donna glanced at him sympathetically. "Well, she didn't say those words exactly…"

"But she doesn't want me to come," Hyde said, finishing her thought.

"Look, man, I'll stay here with you," Eric offered. "I don't really like her that much." Donna hit him in the shoulder, and he looked over at her, offended. "I was just trying to help."

Hyde shook his head. "Nah, man, you don't have to stay."

"Are you sure you'll be okay here all by yourself?" Donna asked, watching him carefully.

"I'm not staying here," Hyde replied firmly, as if daring anyone to question him.

Eric glanced at his friend warily. "Hyde, man, I don't know if that's such a good idea…"

Reaching into his pocket, Hyde pulled out a tiny velvet box and set it down on the table. "Forman, I've had that ring for months because for months, I've been too stupid to go after Jackie and fight for her. I'm not gonna give up another opportunity."

Eric looked at Donna for help, but she was smiling appreciatively at Hyde. "Well, it's about damn time."


	10. Changed

A/N: Well, so much for ending this story in 10 chapters. I kinda figured I wouldn't do it... Anyway, now I'm thinking this'll have two more chapters, but I may change my mind again. Ideas just keep popping into my head, and I'm really having a blast writing this story so that seems to keep me from ending it:) All the reviews have really helped, too! You guys have been so awesome with all the feedback, so thank you all so much! I hope you continue to enjoy as I continue to drag out this story as long as I possibly can:)

Chapter Ten – Changed

Jackie smiled as the intercom buzzed and Donna's voice came over the speaker. "Hey, Jackie, we're here."

She rushed over to the door and pushed the button. "Come on up, guys, I'm in apartment 12B."

A few minutes later, the sound of familiar voices came floating down the hall, and Jackie couldn't contain a tiny squeal of excitement as she heard a knock on her door. She hurried over and flung it open, beaming at her friends on the other side.

Donna threw her arms around the smaller girl, hugging her tightly. "Jackie, you look amazing!" she said excitedly.

Jackie grinned. "Of course I do, Donna." She pulled away and added, "but thank you."

Eric came forward as Donna slipped inside the apartment, offering Jackie a small smile. "Hey, Jackie, uh, nice place you got here."

Jackie rolled her eyes and pulled him into a hug. "Thanks for coming, Eric," she said, causing Eric to blush and sputter incoherently. She let him go and he quickly made his way inside after his girlfriend, setting down both his and Donna's bags in the living room.

Fez stepped forward next, a shy smile on his face.

"Fezzie!" Jackie cried, flinging her arms around his neck. She immediately felt him relax as his arms slipped around her, and she smiled. "I'm really glad you came."

"Me too, Jackie," he said quietly.

"Come on, Fez, quit hogging her!" Kelso whined, bouncing up and down on the balls of his feet, waiting for his turn to hug Jackie.

Jackie giggled and Fez let her go, flashing her a quick grin before heading inside after Donna and Eric. "Hey, Michael," she said, and then gasped as Kelso charged forward and wrapped his arms around her in a bone-crushing embrace, lifting her off the floor.

"Jackie!" he shouted and buried his face into her neck.

"Michael," Jackie coughed weakly. "You're…you're hurting me."

Immediately, he set her back on the floor, offering her an apologetic smile. "Sorry, I'm just really glad to see you."

Jackie smiled indulgently. "I'm glad to see you too, Michael."

He leaned down, and Jackie's hand instantly shot up, hitting him square in the chest.

"Michael! That wasn't an invitation to kiss me!" she cried.

Kelso gave an indignant huff. "Well, damn, Jackie, you're giving me mixed signals here!"

She shook her head. "Just get inside, Michael." He walked past her into the apartment and suddenly the hallway was clear. She gasped. She hadn't noticed him before; the hallway had been crowded and he was slightly shorter than Michael, who had effectively blocked much of her view, but she suddenly found herself unable to look away from a pair of startlingly blue eyes.

"Hey, Jacks," he greeted.

The familiar nickname sent a shiver down her spine. "Steven," she breathed, still in shock at seeing him there.

Hyde shifted his bag on his shoulder uncomfortably, disliking the awkwardness between them. He frantically thought of something to say to ease the tension, but all that came out was, "So Kelso's still a whore."

Jackie blinked, coming out of her daze, and as his words permeated her foggy brain, she frowned. "What?"

He cleared his throat, amazed at his own stupidity, and clarified, "Kelso, he still hits on you."

She lifted one shoulder in a shrug and replied nonchalantly, "He's just being Michael; he'll never change."

Hyde nodded in silent agreement and the two stood staring at one another for a few minutes, neither knowing what to say. Hyde felt a slight twinge of regret that her mood had changed so drastically when she'd seen him. He'd watched her from behind the others when she'd thrown open the door, her smile stretching all the way up to her bright eyes. She looked so excited to see them all, but that smile and that excitement had instantly faded when she'd seen him, turning blank instead. He mentally cursed himself for ever teaching her Zen.

"So um, what are you doing here?" Jackie asked.

"So uh, are you gonna invite me in or what?" Hyde asked at the same time.

Both blinked in surprise and their voices echoed in sync again as they uttered, "What?"

Jackie's face became hot with embarrassment, and Hyde smirked. "So this is awkward," he joked.

She giggled. "Yeah."

"Well, are you gonna invite me in, or am I supposed to sleep out here in the hallway?" he repeated, indicating the open door of her apartment.

"Oh," Jackie uttered in embarrassment, and turned toward the door. As he stepped inside, she shut it behind her and then faced him, a curious look on her face. "Steven, what exactly are you doing here anyway?"

He shrugged. "Donna told me you'd gotten an apartment and that everyone was coming down to help you move in, so I figured why not."

Jackie glanced at him suspiciously, but didn't press the matter further as Daniel came into the room. She felt more than saw Hyde tense, and a tiny thrill shot through her, which she outwardly ignored and mentally chastised herself for feeling.

"So, your friends seem…nice," Daniel said, forcing a smile as he came to stand beside her. He noticed Hyde and extended his hand. "Oh, hello. I'm Daniel. You must be another of Jackie's friends." He laughed a little. "I didn't know there were so many of you."

Hyde stared at the outstretched hand for asecond and then looked over at Jackie. "Who is this guy?"

Daniel looked offended and opened his mouth to reply, but Jackie cut him off, coming to stand between the two as if warding off a fight. "This is Daniel, a friend of mine from work." She turned back to Daniel and gestured to Hyde. "Daniel, this is Steven."

Daniel's eyes widened in recognition and a sneer curved his lips. "So, you're the infamous Steven Hyde. I've heard a lot about you."

"All exaggerated lies, I'm sure," Hyde replied, flashing Jackie a significant look. "It's funny though, I've never heard any mention of you."

"Okay, Daniel," Jackie practically shouted as she turned to him and placed a hand on his chest. "Why don't you go help the others start unpacking?"

Daniel looked putout for a second, but he obeyed, shooting Hyde a menacing glare before he retreated from the room.

Hyde watched him leave, an amused expression on his face, and then he glanced at Jackie. "_That's_ the guy you're sleeping with now?"

Jackie glared at him, hands on her hips. "I am _not_ sleeping with him; not that it's any of your business anyway."

"So then what's he doing here?" Hyde asked, his eyebrow quirked interestedly.

"He's here to help me move in," Jackie replied, irritated, "just like you and everybody else. Although, might I add, _he_ was _invited_."

Hyde opened his mouth to retort, but just then Kelso bounded into the room.

"Jackie, your apartment is awesome! Fez and I want to sleep out on the balcony."

Jackie rolled her eyes and explained patiently, "Michael, it's cold outside, and there's plenty of space inside for all of you. I figured Donna and Eric could take the couch in the living room, and then there's enough space for at least two of you on the floor out there. The other person can sleep on the floor in my room."

"Your boyfriend's not staying? Or is he sleeping in your bed with you?" Hyde bit out sarcastically.

"What boyfriend?" Kelso asked, looking confusedly back and forth between the two. "Wait, Jackie, you have a new boyfriend? Is it that Daniel guy, 'cause, I've gotta tell you, I think you could do better."

Hyde grinned at his friend. "I totally agree, Kelso."

Jackie threw up her hands in exasperation. "He is _not_ my boyfriend!" She cleared her throat and straightened her shirt, quieting her voice as she added, "And no, he's not staying the night."

Kelso scratched his head, a puzzled frown on his face. "Well, then what's he doing here?"

"Exactly what I asked," Hyde replied.

Glaring at both of them, Jackie said, slowly so they would both understand, "Daniel is here because he's a good friend of mine and I asked him to come help me move in. He isn't staying because he wanted to give me time to hang out with you guys alone. That's it, end of story."

"Whatever," Hyde said, shrugging. "So how do we decide who sleeps where?"

Jackie smiled sweetly and patted them both on the shoulder. "I really don't care." And with that, she headed into the kitchen where Donna, Eric, and Daniel were busily unpacking boxes while Fez watched from the kitchen table, a sucker in his mouth.

Hyde watched her walk away and then faced Kelso. "Guess that means we get to choose."

Kelso's hand instantly shot up in the air. "I call Jackie's room!" he yelled.

Hyde frogged him on the arm. "Kelso! Come on, man, this is like the perfect opportunity for me to talk to Jackie."

"But I don't wanna sleep with Fez," Kelso whined, pouting. "He makes weird moaning noises in his sleep."

Hyde made a face and shook his head. "I don't care, man. I came here to get Jackie back, and to do that I need to talk to her alone. If I sleep in her room, it'll give me the perfect excuse to be alone with her."

Kelso continued to pout, but relented with a loud, "Fine!" before stomping into the living room to join the others.

Grinning to himself at his victory, Hyde headed down the narrow hallway and into Jackie's bedroom to set down his duffle bag. He glanced around and groaned. The room hadn't yet been painted, but he knew it would only be a matter of time before the cream colored walls were covered up with a blinding pink. Even so, the bedroom screamed "Jackie!" The bed was frilly in pink and white, with stuffed animals heaped in the center. A big, bright rainbow was tacked onto the wall above the bed, and under it, a neon-green sign that said Jackie's name. Scented candles were everywhere, along with ABBA records and paraphernalia, and the one coveted Captain and Tennille poster Jackie had managed to salvage from her stay at the Pinciotti's. Boxes of clothes and other odds and ends littered the floor. Shaking his head, Hyde sat down on the bed, musing at Jackie's incredibly bad taste. He shifted uncomfortably and pulled Fluffycakes out from under him, smiling wryly at the plush toy.

"Hey," Donna said as she entered the bedroom.

Jumping at the sound of her voice, Hyde quickly threw Fluffycakes to the floor and hoped she hadn't seen him holding it.

Donna grinned as she looked around the room. "Wow, Jackie has like the worst taste ever. I can't believe you like her."

Hyde chuckled. "Neither can I, man."

"So Kelso informed us all that you're sleeping in here tonight," Donna commented casually as she sat beside him. "Daniel didn't look too happy at the news."

Hyde smirked. "Good." Then, turning serious, he asked, "What do you think of him anyway?"

Donna thought for a moment, choosing her words carefully before she replied, "I think he's a nice guy. He seems very friendly, although he doesn't appear too comfortable around either Kelso or Fez, but that's to be expected."

Hyde frowned. That hadn't been the answer he'd been hoping for. Donna was his friend, and she was supposed to tell him that Daniel was a terrible guy and completely wrong for Jackie, thus improving his chances to get her back.

Noticing his unhappy expression, Donna added thoughtfully, "Of course, he's all wrong for Jackie. Jackie needs someone who won't take her crap all the time, someone who makes her think about more than how she looks or what the latest fashion is. She needs someone who will protect her but at the same time give her freedom enough to be her own person. I think Daniel might treat her like another Kelso, and that's probably the last thing she needs, especially after you."

"What do you mean after me?" Hyde asked.

"Well, you changed her," Donna replied simply. "With Kelso, all that ever mattered was how she looked and what party she was invited to that week. She was bitchy and self-centered, and the nicest thing she'd ever done for anybody was tell them that their clogs actually matched their outfit for once. But with you, she started thinking about important things like what she wanted to do with her life, and yeah, she still had her bitchy, self-centered moments, but you didn't let her get away with them for very long. She actually started caring about people, I mean, she even paid for part of my engagement ring!" She paused, watching him closely. "And she changed you too, Hyde. Before her, you were just this pissed off guy in Eric's basement. You were never really happy, and you never really cared about anything. But with Jackie, you started to enjoy things, and you actually became motivated to improve yourself. You got a job and started thinking about the future, and you never would've done that if she hadn't been pushing you to reach your potential. I mean, hell, you didn't think you _had_ potential before Jackie!"

Hyde grinned at her.

Donna smiled and patted him on the back. "Don't worry, Hyde. I think Jackie already knows that what you two had was really special, and I don't think she's looking to find that with Daniel. I think he's just here to remind the rest of us that she's still Jackie Burkhart."

He rolled his eyes. "Like we could forget."


	11. Locked Out

A/N: All right, I have this story planned out to 13 chapters now, but you all know me, so don't be surprised if it's longer ;) I highly doubt it'll be more than 15 chapters though...at least, I hope not because I have other ideas for stories that I'd like to start writing soon. Anyway, as always, I greatly appreciate all the feedback! I love you all - thanks for keeping me going!

Chapter Eleven – Locked Out

Donna and Hyde emerged from Jackie's room and wandered back toward the kitchen where the others were still busily unpacking. Flashing Hyde an encouraging smile, Donna left him and headed over to Eric, reaching into the box he was currently unloading and pulling out some dishes. Hyde took a deep breath and made his way over to Jackie, who was thankfully tackling a large box of kitchen utensils by herself. He noticed Daniel glance up as he entered, pausing as he pulled bubble wrap off a frying pan, but Hyde ignored him.

"Hey," he said as he came up beside Jackie. He pointed at the box. "Need any help with that?"

Jackie straightened, a box of knives in her hand. "I think I can handle it, thanks." She turned away from him, setting the box on the kitchen table and opening it.

"Come on, Jackie, what'd I do now?" Hyde complained, irritated.

"What did you _do_?" Jackie cried, whipping around to face him, a large butcher knife gripped tightly in her hand.

Hyde immediately backed up and held up his hands in supplication. "Whoa, Jacks, calm down."

Jackie lowered her voice, but still retained a firm grasp on her weapon as she hissed, "What do you think you're doing sleeping in my room?"

Still eyeing the knife cautiously, Hyde replied defensively, "I figured I was doing you a favor. Would you rather have Kelso sleep in there with you and wake up with his tongue down your throat? Or Fez and listen to him complain about his needs, and possibly try to relieve them by using you? I'm the safest option for you, Jacks."

"Stop calling me that!" Jackie shouted, glaring furiously at him.

Hyde smirked, noting triumphantly that she hadn't questioned his motives because she knew he was right, and more importantly that the pet name he'd given her when they were together still apparently had an effect on her. She was still brandishing a sharp metal object at him, however, so he wisely chose not to reveal those little details to her and instead said, "Come on, Jackie, it won't be that bad, I promise."

She pointed the knife at him threateningly and warned, "You had just better behave yourself, Steven Hyde."

He held up a hand in Scout's honor. "I swear."

Eyeing him skeptically for a few more moments, Jackie finally decided he was being truthful and turned back around to take out the rest of the knives from the box and slip them into the silverware drawer.

Hyde smiled to himself at his victory and reached into the box, pulling out a container of forks. The two of them continued unpacking in silence, but Hyde did not miss the furtive glances Jackie kept shooting his way, nor did he miss an opportunity to bump into her while maneuvering around the crowded little kitchen. He was enjoying himself thoroughly with their little game when Daniel appeared.

"Uh, your friend Michael and I have finished unpacking our box," he announced uneasily, his eyes narrowing as he watched Jackie scoot quickly away from Hyde.

"Good for you," Hyde remarked, sneering.

Daniel's jaw clenched, but he ignored the comment and addressed Jackie as he said, "The rest of the kitchen boxes are pretty much unpacked, so we were wondering what you'd like us to start with next."

Jackie glanced around. "Well, I suppose we should get the boxes in the living room cleared away since Michael and Fez will be sleeping on the floor in there."

It was said innocently enough, but the implication of her words was not lost on Daniel, whose gaze turned to Hyde and darkened. "I see. And I assume that means _he_ will be sleeping…"

"In Jackie's room," Hyde finished smugly.

Jackie threw him a warning glare, but he continued to smile arrogantly at Daniel, almost as if daring the other to say something against his statement.

"Jackie, could I speak to you alone, please?" Daniel asked calmly, his eyes still locked on Hyde's.

Shooting Hyde another angry scowl, Jackie followed Daniel from the kitchen and out into the hallway.

"Looks like you've got some competition, Hyde," Kelso commented as he watched the two leave.

Hyde scoffed. "From that guy? Please."

Kelso shrugged. "I don't know, man, he's a pretty guy, and we all know how much Jackie likes pretty guys. I mean, just look at me, I'm living proof of her good taste in men!"

"Whatever," Hyde snorted and pretended to continue unpacking, but he couldn't help but glance up to watch them, an uneasy feeling in the pit of his stomach.

Meanwhile, out in the hallway, Daniel pointed a thumb over his shoulder and said, "You know, if you want, I could stay here with you tonight. Just to make sure Steven doesn't try anything on you."

Jackie smiled kindly at him, but declined. "He won't try anything; he knows if he did I'd have Donna kicking his ass in an instant." She placed a hand on his shoulder. "But thank you."

Daniel's eyes softened as he looked at her sympathetically. "It must be really hard seeing him again after everything, huh?"

Jackie let out a little laugh. "You can say that again." She sighed, removing her hand and glancing past him as she added, "I don't even know why he's here. He hasn't spoken to me since his wife showed up, and now all of a sudden he travels hours to come down and help me move in? It just doesn't make sense."

Daniel smiled wryly. "Oh, I don't know, I think it makes perfect sense." Off of her confused look, he clarified, "He's obviously still in love with you."

The words caused an instant lurch in her heart, and Jackie frowned at the sensation, knowing it was only false hope. She shook her head and said derisively, "For Steven to _still_ be in love with me would mean he was actually _in_ love with me at some point, and I've come to realize that was never the case."

Taking a step nearer, Daniel bent his head down closer to her and said quietly, "I don't think you give yourself enough credit, Jackie. I don't know how any man could be around you and not fall in love with you."

Before she had time to react, his lips were pressing urgently against hers, his arms slipping around her tiny frame and pulling her into his body. Her mind barely had time to register what was going on when he was roughly yanked away. Eyes widening in surprise, Jackie barely had time to shriek, "Steven!" before her ex-boyfriend's fist collided with Daniel's nose, sending him sprawling to the floor.

The commotion caused the others to come racing out into the hallway, where they all stopped dead in their tracks upon witnessing the scene. But as Daniel struggled to get up and Hyde took another step toward him, Eric, Kelso, and Fez rushed forward, each grabbing a hold of him and backing him up against the wall. Donna knelt down beside Jackie at Daniel's side and helped her lift him into a sitting position. Daniel was cupping a hand over his nose, and blood was dripping from between his fingers.

"Oh, God," Jackie moaned as she stared at him, her face ghostly white. "Sh-should we take him to a hospital?"

Donna's eyes raked over Daniel's face, mentally assessing the damage. "Yeah, I guess. His nose is probably broken." She glanced over her shoulder at the three boys who were still restraining Hyde and called, "Kelso, Fez, one of you come help me. We're taking him to the hospital."

"Donna, hello?" Eric said, obviously annoyed that she hadn't asked him. "Uh, why can't I help?"

Rolling her eyes, Donna shoved her arm under Daniel's right shoulder and propped him up against her. "Eric, _Jackie_ can barely lift him, so you definitely won't be able to."

Eric laughed nervously. "Come on, Donna, I could _so_ lift him."

"Eric!" Donna snapped, straining under Daniel's weight. "This is not the time to be a stubborn jerk, okay?" She gestured with her head towards Kelso and Fez, who hadn't moved away from the wall. "Now, one of you please come help me lift him up."

Kelso hurried forward, muscling an arm under Daniel's shoulder and helping Donna lift him into a standing position. Daniel was weak and unsteady on his feet, and it took the both of them just to stand him up straight. "How're we gonna drive, Big D?" Kelso asked once they had him steady.

Eric stepped forward and triumphantly held up the keys to the Vista Cruiser. "And Eric Forman comes to the rescue in the clutch!"

Donna rolled her eyes again, but remained silent as she and Kelso hobbled down the hallway, Eric trailing happily after them.

Fez glanced quickly between the seething Jackie and the fuming Hyde and called after them, "Ai! Wait for me!"

Eric whipped around and stopped him. "Uh, Fez, I think you should stay here." He pointed over Fez's shoulder to the pair of silently raging ex-lovers and said, "I think one of them might kill the other one if we leave them alone."

"And how am I supposed to stop them from killing one another, jump in the way and sacrifice myself?" Fez snapped, crossing his arms over his chest.

Eric clapped him on the shoulder. "Whatever it takes, man." Then he hurried off after Donna and Kelso.

Fez walked slowly back to Jackie and Hyde, smiling nervously at them as he said, "Okay, guys, how about we go inside now?"

Jackie glared at Hyde. "He is _not_ coming back in my apartment."

"Oh, what are you gonna do, Jackie, make me sleep out in the hallway?" Hyde spat sarcastically, rolling his eyes.

"As a matter of fact, yes," Jackie retorted and pointed to the door. "Fez, get inside."

Fez glanced fearfully between the two. "A-actually Jackie, why don't we…"

"Now, Fez!"

"Ai!" Fez yelped and leapt into the apartment.

Jackie entered after him and slammed the door shut in Hyde's face.

"Come on, Jackie!" Hyde yelled, banging his fist on the door. "This is ridiculous! Let's just talk about this!" When she didn't respond, he switched tactics, shouting, "All my stuff is in there!"

The door opened and for an instant, Hyde thought she was going to reconsider and let him come in to talk, but the notion was quickly dispelled when his sleeping bag, pillow, and duffle bag hit him consecutively in the face. "Shit," he cursed as he plopped down heavily on the floor and slammed his head back against the wall.

An hour later when Donna, Kelso, and Eric returned from the hospital, Hyde was lying inside his sleeping bag in the hallway, his arms folded under his head as he stared up at the ceiling.

"Hyde? What are you doing out here?" Donna asked as she noticed him.

"Oh my God, did you kill Jackie?" Eric cried and snapped his fingers. "Dammit, I specifically told Fez _not_ to let you kill each other!"

"Relax, Forman," Hyde replied as he propped himself up on his elbows. "I didn't have a chance to even talk to Jackie. She locked me out."

"Burn!" Kelso shouted, pointing at him and laughing.

Donna smacked him. "Shut up, Kelso." Then, to Hyde she said, "Well, you're lucky Daniel's nose is going to heal in a few days, otherwise, Jackie might kill _you_."

Hyde snorted and got out of his sleeping bag. "Whatever, man. He's lucky all I did was break his nose."

Eric shook his head. "Hyde, man, you've gotta chill a bit. Jackie's already pissed off at you as it is, I don't think you need to go and make the situation worse by being all macho," he said, gesturing with his hands.

"Eric's right, Hyde. I mean, you haven't even told Jackie about Sam yet, or why you're even here; she's gotta be confused," Donna said calmly.

"Fine," Hyde snapped. "Can you just get me inside already so I can talk to her?"

The other three glanced at each other, wary expressions on their faces.

"I don't know, Hyde, maybe you should let her cool off for the night," Eric suggested.

"Yeah, don't worry about Jackie," Kelso agreed, grinning. "Fez and I'll take care of her for you."

Hyde punched him on the arm and growled, "You and Fez are sleeping on the living room floor, and if either one of you touches Jackie, I'll kill you."

"Damn, Hyde!" Kelso cried, rubbing his sore arm. "Fez is probably already in there touching her! Go hit him!"

"Well, I would, if I could get in the freakin' apartment!" Hyde roared.

"All right, that's enough!" Donna shouted, stepping between the two. "Hyde, I'll go talk to Jackie and if she wants to speak to you, you can come in, okay? If not, well, I'm sure she'll be over it by morning."

Hyde stared at her in disbelief. "Did you just meet Jackie?"

As if to punctuate his statement, Jackie's voice called from the other side of the door, "He is _not_ coming in here, Donna!"

Eric stepped forward then and placed a hand on his friend's shoulder. "Look, Hyde, Jackie obviously just needs some time to calm down. But she's Jackie, so I'm sure by morning she'll be chewing your ear off for an explanation."

Clearly unhappy, but at a loss for a better solution, Hyde nodded silently and slipped back underneath his sleeping bag. He watched with barely concealed resentment as Donna knocked on the door and it opened a crack, Jackie's face peering out. When she was satisfied that Hyde would not be trying to make a run for the door, she let the others in and stuck out her tongue at him before slamming it closed yet again.

"Oh, grow up, Jackie!" Hyde yelled angrily as he slumped back onto his pillow to pout.


	12. Taking it Slow

A/N: Thank you again for all the wonderful reviews! I wouldn't have been able to keep going without them! Be forewarned: Hyde and Jackie may be a little OOC in this chapter; Hyde especially is hard to write when he's not Zen, but they needed to have this confrontation in order to get this story to the next chapter, which will be the last. So, as always, please enjoy, and feel free to leave me some feedback! I will love you forever!

Chapter Twelve – Taking it Slow

Hyde was just beginning to drift to sleep when the loud, familiar voices of his friends once again forced his eyes open. He glared at them over the top of his sleeping bag as they filed one after the other out of Jackie's apartment.

Donna was the first to notice him still lying there, and she gave him an embarrassed smile. "Oh, hey Hyde. Did we wake you?"

"Oh, no," Hyde replied, his voice dripping with sarcasm. "I was sleeping like a baby out here in the hallway, on the hard floor, in my ratty old sleeping bag."

Eric peered over Donna's shoulder. "Rough night, man?"

Pushing himself into a sitting position, Hyde shrugged. "Well, only if you call being stepped on every thirty minutes rough. Man, at one point, there must have been like twenty people trampling over me."

"Yeah, Jackie said the girls next to her always have big parties on the weekends," Eric said.

"What are you guys doing up anyway?" Hyde asked, looking around at them all.

"We're going sightseeing!" Kelso said excitedly.

Fez nodded enthusiastically and clapped his hands. "Yes, they're going to show me the Big Candy Apple!"

Eric shook his head, chuckling. "No, Fez, it's just the Big Apple, and that's New York. We're in Chicago, man, the Windy City."

"Well that doesn't sound nearly as delicious and caramel-coated," Fez grumbled, frowning.

Donna patted him on the back. "Come on, Fez, it'll be great. We'll take you to see the Sears Tower, and there's a ton of shopping to do on Michigan Avenue, and we all know how much you love fashion."

Fez grinned widely.

"Speaking of shopping," Hyde piped up, craning his neck to see over them, "where's your resident fashion expert?"

"Actually, she decided to stay home," Donna said nonchalantly.

Hyde smirked. "You forced her, didn't you?"

Donna looked offended. "I did not _force_ her. Coerced, maybe."

Hyde just shook his head, an amused smile on his face.

"All right, so we're just gonna head out there, buddy," Eric said and then leaned forward conspiratorially to whisper, "Good luck," before he headed down the hall, an eager Fez and Kelso bounding along after him.

"Right, so, we'll see you later then," Donna said as she started off after her boyfriend.

"Hey, Donna, man," Hyde called as he got out of his sleeping bag. She turned around and he offered her a lopsided grin. "Thanks."

She nodded once. "Just don't screw it up again, Hyde." Then she grinned and added, "You're getting to be as bad as Eric."

Hyde shuddered at the thought and watched her disappear down the hallway before taking a deep breath and turning towards the door. He gripped the doorknob tightly and pushed it open, cautiously peeking his head in; afraid it would be hit with some type of flying ammunition. When he saw the coast was clear, he stepped inside and shut the door quietly behind him. It took him only a second to locate Jackie, who was sitting on the far end of the couch in the living room, straight across from him. She was holding a fluffy pink and green flower pillow to her chest, and the TV was on, the familiar theme song of _The Price is Right _making him smile despite himself.

"You still watch this show, huh?" he heard himself saying, and immediately regretted it as he saw her stiffen.

"I happen to like Bob Barker," was Jackie's flippant reply.

He nodded and decided it was best to switch tactics. "So, you passed up an opportunity to go shopping to stay here with me?" _Crap, _he thought and almost smacked himself in the forehead for being so tactless. Why the hell couldn't he engage his brain _before_ he spoke?

Jackie glared at him over her shoulder. "Trust me, this is not how I wanted to spend my afternoon."

"Then why are you here?" he asked, unable to stop the words from tumbling out, despite his better judgment.

She shrugged and turned back to the TV. "Donna said you were willing to grovel, and I wouldn't miss that for the world."

Hyde bristled slightly. "Well, I hate to disappoint you, Jackie, but I'm not here to grovel."

Another shrug. "Fine, then you can just leave."

He sighed and plopped down onto the other end of the couch, facing her. "Jackie…"

"I'm serious, Steven," Jackie replied coldly, her eyes riveted to the television screen. "If you're not here to beg for forgiveness after your stupid stunt yesterday, then I don't want to hear anything you have to say."

"Why are you so freakin' stubborn?" Hyde growled in frustration, fisting both hands into his hair.

"Why am _I_ stubborn?" Jackie countered, shifting on the couch to give him her full attention, a deep scowl on her face.

_Crap, _Hyde thought again, realizing his mistake too late.

"Steven Hyde, you are the _definition_ of stubborn. You were too stubborn to admit you felt something on our Veteran's Day date, you were too stubborn to ever take me out somewhere nice, you were too stubborn to tell me you loved me, you were too stubborn to give me even the tiniest glimmer of hope that someday we could end up together, and you were too stubborn to let yourself in too deep and actually feel something real because you were afraid that I'd pull the rug out from under your feet just like everyone else in your life."

Jackie's eyes were shining with unshed tears, her face flushed from her rant, and all Hyde could do was stare at her, enduring his punishment silently. He knew he deserved every word, and all he could think to say after hearing the pain he'd caused was, "Jacks…I'm sorry." He knew it was inadequate, but it was all he could offer.

She shook her head and said ruefully, "Too little too late, Steven."

"I know," he responded sadly.

After a long moment of silence, Jackie couldn't help but ask the question that had been plaguing her since he'd appeared at her doorstep. "Why are you even here?"

Hyde hesitated, unsure of where to begin and how much he wanted to reveal to her. Heaving a deep sigh, he decided it was time to come clean…about everything. If there was any hope of getting her back into his life, he had to prove to her he could be what she needed. He was suddenly thankful they were alone in her apartment; at least his friends weren't there to witness the complete destruction of his reputation.

"Sam and I got divorced." _Well, that's as good a place as any to begin, _he thought.

Jackie's eyes widened in surprise. "She left you?"

He rolled his eyes. Leave it to Jackie to mess up a heartfelt confession with a burn. "No, Jackie, I was the one who asked for the divorce."

She cocked a dubious brow at him. "Why?"

Hyde sucked in a deep breath. _It's now or never, _he thought and then launched himself into his explanation. "I read the letters you wrote to everyone, and Donna, Kelso, and Fez made sure I understood what a dillhole I'd been. I guess I just realized how much I'd hurt you and why I…did what I did."

"You mean marrying a stripper, while you were drunk?"

He frowned slightly. She really wasn't going to give him a break, and he couldn't honestly blame her; he had a lot to answer for. "Look, Jackie, I made a mistake. I should've believed you. It's just…the way I feel about you…I've never felt that way about anyone, and it scares me. But I knew after you left that I didn't want to lose that feeling." He paused and looked away from her, embarrassed that he was being so uncharacteristically open. But the confession had already begun, and there was no turning back now. "When I saw you with Kelso," he continued, his voice a little unsteady at the painful memory, "I remembered everyone else who'd walked out on me after I'd let them in, and even though in the back of my mind, I knew you weren't like them, I made myself believe that you were; it was easier that way – I didn't have to worry that I wouldn't make you happy or that I couldn't live up to your expectations."

"And Sam?" Jackie prompted, though her voice was softer now.

"Sam was an escape. I wanted to forget you, forget how you made me feel, and being with her meant I didn't have to feel anything. At the same time, she kept you away from me, which I thought at the time would be the best way for you to get over me."

She studied him curiously, scrutinizing his expression, looking for any sign of dishonesty. When she found none, she said, "That still doesn't really explain what you're doing here, Steven."

He nodded. "Jacks, I…" but the words refused to come. After everything that he'd confessed to her, he still couldn't say the words she needed to hear, the words he needed to say. Instead, he reached into his pocket, producing the tiny velvet box, and set it on the coffee table before her.

Jackie's eyes became dinner plates as she stared, mouth agape, at the box. Lamely, she pointed to it. "St-Steven, is that…is that what I think it is?"

Hyde smiled a little at her reaction. "Yeah, Jacks." He reached for the box and opened it, revealing the sparkling engagement ring. It was a simple gold band with a pink sapphire cut in the shape of a diamond in the center. Nothing too fancy, but he'd known the minute he'd seen it that Jackie would love it.

"Oh my God," Jackie breathed. "What…why…?"

"This is what I came to Chicago for," he said seriously. "This is my answer."

Her eyes flew to his face. "You-you're proposing?"

He smiled shyly and suddenly the fear was gone. He set the ring down and took her hand in his, his eyes finding hers as he said softly, "Jackie, I lo…"

"Don't!" Jackie shrieked, yanking her hand back.

Hyde stared at her, confused, and noticed the tears gathered in the corners of her eyes, threatening to spill over at any moment.

Jackie was visibly shaking, and her voice trembled as she said, "Please, Steven, just don't. I-I can't do this…not now." She shook her head and the tears broke free, streaking down her pale cheeks. "You put me through hell. You refused to acknowledge any type of feelings for me until you cheated on me, and even after I forgave you, you still didn't trust me. You refused to even consider the possibility of having a future with me until I actually stood up for something that was important to me and left you, and even then you found a way to back out of it. I gave up my career and my life to be with you, only to find that you'd already made a life with someone else. And then, when I'm finally starting to move on, you come barging into my life, telling me now you're ready to marry me?"

"Jackie, I've had this ring since the first time I followed you to Chicago. I came to propose to you then, but I was scared," Hyde said, hating how lame the words sounded to his own ears, but also knowing it was the truth. "I didn't want you to realize ten years down the road that I wasn't good enough for you. Everyone else has already walked out of my life; I didn't think I could handle it if you did too."

"So you decided to walk out on me first?" Jackie spat, her tears blurring her vision.

He could feel her slipping away from him, and a new type of fear began coursing through his veins, causing his heart to hammer inside his chest. "I was stupid, Jackie, and I'm sorry. But I want to be with you, forever, and I'm not afraid of that anymore." He scooted closer to her on the couch and reached for her hand, but she abruptly stood up, shaking her head.

"I have to go," she whispered. "I just…I need to get out for a bit."

"It's almost dark out," Hyde said, for the first time noticing how long they had been sitting there. "You shouldn't walk out there alone."

Jackie backed away from him. "I'll be fine; I know the neighborhood really well."

Sensing her determination, Hyde sighed and nodded once in acceptance. "Just…think about what I said, Jacks. I know what I put you through, and if I could take it all back and do it over again I would."

Nodding absently, Jackie hurried out of her apartment, stopping only briefly to pull on her coat. She walked briskly down the sidewalk past her apartment, her feet instinctively leading her to some unknown destination. Shoving her hands deep into the pockets of her fur coat, Jackie thought about Hyde's words, the meaning behind them, and the courage it must have taken him to say them. She knew him well and she knew it wasn't easy for him to open up like that, but she was wary of letting him in again. He had hurt her far worse than Michael ever had with his cheating. Still, she couldn't just ignore the feelings for him she still harbored. Despite her resolve to forget everything about him and move on, Jackie couldn't deny that she still loved him, even after everything he'd put her through. She'd tried so hard to forget about him, but she just couldn't. No one else had ever made her feel like he did, and she somehow knew that no one else ever would.

But could she really just forget everything and marry him? She shook her head, marveling at how, just a year ago, she would have jumped for joy at the prospect of marriage. Now she wasn't even sure it was what she wanted. But she knew she loved him, and she knew how hard it must have been for him to confess everything to her, and she understood his insecurities. He had never been given a reason to trust people, and every time he let someone in, it seemed they left him. She had slowly shown him that people were not all bad, that he was worthy of love, and she knew that he had finally realized she would never leave him, would never hurt him.

She took a deep breath, allowing the cold air to fill her lungs and momentarily freeze them. The sun had set long ago, and the dark night sky was dotted with stars that could just barely be seen through the tall, looming shapes of the skyscrapers. Jackie wasn't sure just how long she'd been out walking, but she had made her decision, and so, shrugging her coat tighter around her shoulders to keep away the chill, she headed back.

She found him in his sleeping bag in the hallway, and she had to giggle at the pathetic picture he made. His eyes opened at the sound of her voice, and he smiled slowly as he saw her grin.

"You were gone a while," he commented casually, a bit of apprehension slipping into his voice. "Everyone's back from sightseeing. They all went to bed already."

Jackie nodded and held out a hand to him. "Come on inside, you look uncomfortable."

He stared at her for a beat and then took her hand, allowing her to lead him back into the apartment. He followed her silently to her room, his sleeping bag and pillow tucked under his arm, and when she dropped his hand, he gave her a questioning look.

"Don't get any ideas," Jackie warned, but there was a smile on her face. "You're sleeping on the floor."

Hyde chuckled and spread his sleeping bag on the floor, then crawled inside and stared up at the ceiling.

"I thought about what you said, Steven," Jackie said quietly, staring down at him from her bed. "And I want to take things slow."

He smiled, a feeling of contentment spreading through his entire body. "Okay, Jacks," he said, and she smiled, rolling back over and snuggling into her pillow.


	13. Finally

A/N: So this is the last chapter :( I'm sad to see this one go, it has been such a blast to write! I want to thank every single person who has taken the time to read through it, and an even bigger thank you to all those who reviewed! I definitely wouldn't have been motivated to finish it if it weren't for all of you! I hope you've all enjoyed reading it as much as I've enjoyed writing it!

Chapter Thirteen – Finally

_Five years later._

The gang was once again assembled together at the Forman's residence. It had been almost a year since they had seen each other; all of them had either moved away or were moving on with their own lives independently of the group. Contact was still made frequently, and visits were often scheduled as none of them had moved too far away, but the gang from the basement wasn't really the gang from the basement anymore. They had all grown up.

Donna and Eric had been married for three years and were currently living in a two-bedroom apartment in Madison. Eric was teaching history at the local junior high, and Donna was the manager of the local radio station there. Kelso had recently moved into Brooke's new house in Chicago to be with her and Betsy, and the two were contemplating an engagement in the near future. Fez was still living in Point Place where he owned the hair salon and was currently dating one of the shampoo-girls, Mandy; he often visited Red and Kitty. And Hyde and Jackie, they had been living in Jackie's apartment in Chicago for almost five years. Jackie was a reporter for WBBM (she had thankfully patched up her relationship with Daniel after the whole broken-nose incident) and Hyde had recently opened up a Grooves record store in downtown Chicago, leaving the old store in Point Place to Leo, who, surprisingly, ran it rather smoothly.

Still, even though their lives had taken them down different paths, in a way, the basement gang would remain just that. They were all still very close friends, and so they had gathered this day, in the place where they had each grown up, to come together once again.

Kitty was busily making her third batch of ambrosia salad, while Donna stood nearby, putting the finishing touches on the gigantic tossed salad. Seated at the kitchen table were Eric, Fez, Mandy, Kelso, Brooke, and six-year-old Betsy, who was keeping herself occupied by playing with her father's favorite yellow bouncy ball. The atmosphere was anxious as they waited for the other two members to arrive, the only sound the clock on the wall as it slowly ticked the minutes by.

"When are they supposed to be here?" Eric asked again.

Donna rolled her eyes, not even bothering to look up from her task to answer her husband. "The same time as when you asked ten minutes ago."

Eric grinned sheepishly. "And what time was that again?"

Kitty sighed and glanced at her son. "Two o'clock, Eric, now just relax. They'll be here."

Just then, Red walked into the kitchen, dressed in his uniform. "Kitty, I don't see why we have to have this here. This is supposed to be _my_ day. _I'm_ the Veteran!"

Patting her husband comfortingly on the back, Kitty reasoned, "It's still your day, Red, it's just not _all_ about you anymore!" She laughed her signature laugh and turned back to her salad as Red grumbled and grudgingly left the kitchen.

"There!" Donna cried triumphantly, "I'm done!"

Kitty glanced over and smiled, placing a hand on Donna's shoulder. "Very good, Donna! It looks delicious."

Donna nodded and glanced around the kitchen eagerly. "Okay, so we still need to make the burgers, right? I could get started on those."

"No!" Kitty and Eric cried at the same time, rushing over to her.

Donna glared at them. "And why not?"

Mother and son exchanged a look, and Kitty said, "Red always makes the burgers, and he's already upset about us 'ruining' his special day, so he'd…well, he'd just have a fit if he didn't at least get to grill something."

"Okay," Donna said. "Then how about the potatoes? I could make the baked potatoes."

Again, an anguished "No!" echoed throughout the kitchen.

Donna's eyes narrowed. "What's wrong now?"

Kitty nudged Eric, who stepped forward slightly, offering his wife a nervous smile. "Well, sweetie, we uh…" he looked around the kitchen frantically for something, and suddenly snatched up a shiny bag. "We need you to set out the chips!" he cried triumphantly.

"The chips?" Donna said, annoyed.

Kitty nodded enthusiastically. "Oh, yes, the chips. That's a very important job." Off of Donna's disbelieving and angry glare, she laughed nervously.

Donna placed her hands on her hips and stared at them. "Why don't you guys want me cooking? I'm a good cook. Remember that time I made you dinner, Eric? Chicken Pinciotti? That was great!"

Eric's stomach lurched at just the mention of the horribly undercooked dish, but he plastered a fake smile on his face and lied, "Of course it was, honey, but…"

"So why can't I make the potatoes?"

Eric buckled under her stern gaze, finally spilling forth the truth in an anguished cry, "Okay, okay! Donna, Chicken Pinciotti was the worst dish I've ever eaten. The chicken was oozing…"

"It's called marinade, Eric," Donna snapped.

"No, it's called blood," Eric quipped, and shuddered at the memory. "Donna, we just…we want this dinner to go perfectly for Hyde and Jackie, and to do that, we need you to stay far, far away from all foods that need to be cooked in any way, shape, or form."

Donna opened her mouth to retort, but the familiar sound of the El Camino made all of them freeze instantly.

"Oh, they're here!" Kitty squealed excitedly, clapping her hands. "Everyone, quick, take a dish outside!" She frantically started passing out dishes to them all, even handing Betsy the chip bowl to carry outside, then followed them carrying her famous ambrosia salads. Red was already in the backyard, the burgers sizzling on the grill, as Kitty ordered the others around. Once all the side dishes were on the picnic tables, she hurried about, pushing past the guests to straighten tablecloths and streamers. She was still hustling around when Jackie and Hyde strolled into the Forman's backyard, Hyde's arm casually draped around Jackie's waist, a dish held in Jackie's hands.

"Mrs. Forman, the place looks wonderful!" Jackie exclaimed, glancing about approvingly at the array of red, white, and blue streamers, balloons, and shiny plastic cutouts of stars.

Kitty finally stopped rushing about, coming to a stop in front of the couple and grinning widely at them. "Jackie, Steven, it's so good to see you again! Oh, and you brought…"

"Dessert," Jackie said proudly, handing the dish to Kitty.

Kitty glanced down at the glassware covered with tinfoil apprehensively. She had tried teaching Jackie to bake on several occasions, all with less-than-desirable results and barely-edible food.

Seeing her panicked look, Hyde mentioned, "They're brownies, Mrs. Forman, and _I_ made them."

Kitty laughed her signature laugh and trotted over to the picnic tables with the dessert. Jackie gave Hyde a quick kiss on the lips and then headed into the crowd to greet everyone.

"Brownies?" Eric commented as he came up behind Hyde. "Man, the last time you made brownies, my dad ended up selling my car."

Hyde chuckled and turned around to give his friend a manly hug. When he pulled away, he assured, "Don't worry, man, I've got _that_ secret ingredient in my pocket."

"Uncle Hyde!" came a tiny voice, and Hyde whipped around just as Betsy came racing towards him. He bent down and scooped her up. "Hey there, baby doll."

Kelso's frantic cries of, "Betsy! Come here, baby!" were then heard as he made his way through the crowd of people. As he spotted Hyde and his daughter, his face broke into a relieved smile. "Man, thank God you found her, Hyde. Brooke would've killed me if I'd lost her again."

"Again?" both Eric and Hyde cried.

Kelso rolled his eyes. "Hey, the first time wasn't my fault, okay? Leo was supposed to be watching her and then he wandered off! And the second time I fell asleep, and then the third time…well, I got sorta distracted…"

Eric shook his head as Hyde handed over the little girl. "Man, why the hell is Brooke thinking of marrying you?"

"Daddy's man-pretty!" Betsy squealed happily, grinning up at her father.

"Oh, God, Kelso, what have you been teaching her?" Hyde scolded.

Kelso ignored him and set his daughter gently on the ground. "Go find Mama, Betsy," he said, then patted her behind and watched her race off to find Brooke.

"So where's Fez?" Hyde asked, looking around for the foreigner.

Eric stood on his tiptoes and searched the crowd, finally pointing when he spotted the dark head of their fourth friend. "He's over there, with the women."

Kelso and Hyde shook their heads in disapproval as the three of them headed over to rescue their friend from the presence of the women. When they reached him, he looked deep in conversation with Brooke, Donna, and Mandy.

"So Jackie doesn't know anything?" Mandy was saying excitedly.

"Nope, she hasn't got a clue!" Donna replied, barely able to contain her own excitement.

"And this was the day of their first date!" Fez piped in happily.

"That is so romantic!" Brooke added dreamily.

"Excuse us, ladies," Kelso interrupted, using his macho-voice. "We're here for Fez."

Fez glanced up at his three friends and frowned slightly. "But I was enjoying the girl-talk."

Hyde reached over and grabbed Fez's arm, practically dragging him away. "Sorry, Fez, we're doing this for your own good."

Kelso looped an arm around his best friend's shoulder as Hyde pulled him along, adding, "It's not good for you to spend so much time with the women, Fez."

Eric waved at the three women as he followed Kelso and Hyde, calling over his shoulder, "Go on about your business!"

Donna, Brooke, and Mandy watched them for a second and then huddled back together to resume their conversation, their voices hushed whispers so as not to be overheard. That's how Jackie found them a few minutes later, and she squealed in excitement and rushed to them, nudging her way into the circle.

"Okay, who are we gossiping about because I have seen a _lot_ of crazy outfits here today," she said eagerly.

The other three looked helplessly at each other, floundering for a name. At the same time, they shouted three different ones, and instantly their faces turned bright red.

Jackie barely noticed, nodding her head. "Yeah, yeah, I've seen all three of them, and I've gotta say, they could've at least dressed up for the occasion. Okay, so Veteran's Day isn't the most fancy of holidays, but still, show a little pride, girls! Am I right?" She glanced around at her three companions, who immediately broke into nervous laughter and nodded their heads in agreement.

Meanwhile, in the basement, Hyde was lighting up his "secret ingredient." As he inhaled the smoke deeply, he looked around at his three friends and grinned. "So, fellas, today's the day."

Kelso shook his head, frowning slightly. "Hyde, man, I can't believe you're gonna propose to Jackie. I mean, you've only been living together for what, five years? That's not nearly enough time to decide you want a lifetime commitment to someone. Just look at Brooke and me. We've been dating on and off for like, six years now, and we just _now_ moved in together."

"Aren't you two thinking of getting engaged soon?" Eric asked, confused.

"Well, yeah," Kelso replied and shrugged. "But that's still like another year or two in the future."

"Perfect!" Eric cried, flinging his hands up in the air. "That'll give her enough time to come to her senses."

Kelso frowned and then quickly turned back to Hyde. "Okay, well then think of it this way, from now on, Jackie is the only girl you'll ever have sex with…_ever_!"

Hyde sighed. "Kelso, I've only been sleeping with Jackie for about five years now."

"But a lifetime's a lot longer than five years, man!" Kelso cried defensively.

"Don't listen to him, Hyde," Eric cut in, waving dismissively at Kelso. "You're gonna love married life."

Fez nodded. "Yes, marriage will be great. Sex with your wife whenever you want it!"

Hyde cocked his head as he looked at his friend. "Uh, Fez, that's not really a perk of marriage. I've pretty much been able to have sex with Jackie whenever I want since we started dating."

"Oh, sure, rub it in!" Fez shouted, folding his arms angrily across his chest.

Eric looked around at his friends, grinning. "Hey, I just realized I'm the only one here who's never nailed Jackie."

"You're missing out, man," Kelso said.

Hyde punched him hard on the arm.

"Ow!" Kelso cried, grabbing his injured limb. "Damn, Hyde, I was giving Jackie a compliment!"

Hyde held up a finger, pointing to each of them as he stated firmly, "There will be no more dirty talk involving my soon-to-be-wife." He paused and smiled, adding, "Unless it's me doing the talking."

"So Hyde," Eric said, returning to seriousness, "you sure you're ready for this?"

Smiling, Hyde patted his pocket where the engagement ring was hidden. "Oh yeah, I've been ready for a while, man."

"And you're sure she's gonna say yes this time, right?" Eric asked, his face a little worried. "'Cause the last two times you've tried to propose, well, they haven't really worked."

"Just needed the right moment," Hyde replied and stood. "And this feels like it, boys."

The other three stood as well, each smiling happily at their friend as he ascended the basement steps. They followed him silently as he weaved his way through the crowd of people, his feet inherently leading him to her. They watched as he knelt, in front of them all, and proposed to her, just the way she had always dreamed. They clapped as she leapt into his arms and kissed him hard on the mouth, taking his breath away. And later, when the others had gone home and the basement gang was once again reunited, they rejoiced, knowing they had all found exactly where they belonged.

* * *

A/N 2: So, what'd you think? I hope you liked it, and thanks so much again for reading! I also wanted to ask your opinions on my newest idea for a fic. I would like to do a series of one-shots in which I will take an actual episode from the show and rework it to make it J/H fluff. I have several episodes so far from seasons one and two that I would like to redo, but I don't want to fit them together like a story where one leads to the next and so on. They will each be stand-alone pieces; I just wanted to fit them together because there will hopefully be a lot of them and I don't want to post that many one-shot pieces separately. It'd be easier to put them all together and have each chapter just be another one-shot, possibly spanning all the way till the end of the series, but the episodes will get thinner once J/H get together, leaving me only the angsty ones to remake into fluff. I know that several episodes have already been redone, and a few people have redone episodes and then worked them into stories, but that's not really what I'm trying to do so hopefully it'll be different from what you may have already read. However, if you don't like the idea, just let me know and I'll probably just pick my favorite episodes and post them separately as one-shots. So thank you again for reading!


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